SEBASTIAN’S POV
The night was dark, the sky cloaked in a blanket of stars, but I couldn’t care less about its beauty. My hands gripped the cold steel of my gun, the weight in my palm a familiar comfort.
Roland sat beside me in the car, his jaw clenched, his eyes sharp. We’d been waiting for this moment, this chance to confront the bastard behind the messages that had tormented Sasha and threatened to unravel everything I’d built.
“Are you ready for this?” Roland asked, breaking the tense silence.
I didn’t answer immediately, my gaze fixed on the imposing mansion ahead. Its towering gates and pristine walls were a mockery of the filth hiding within.
This man, whoever he was, had dared to invade my life, target my wife, and now he was about to pay for it.
“More than ready,” I finally said, my voice low but resolute. I pushed open the car door, stepping out into the chilly night air. Roland followed, his own gun drawn.
We approached the gates, the soft crunch of gravel beneath our boots the only sound. No guards. No cameras. Either the man was cocky, or he was hiding something. My gut told me it was the latter.
“Let’s make this quick,” I muttered to Roland as I signalled for him to cover the left side of the house while I took the right.
Without hesitation, we breached the gates, moving swiftly and silently. The grand front doors loomed ahead, but subtlety wasn’t on the menu tonight.
I raised my gun and fired at the lock, the echo of the shot ringing through the night. The door swung open violently, and we stormed inside.
The chaos began instantly.
Gunshots shattered the air as we opened fire, taking down anyone who dared to stand in our way. Roland moved with precision, his shots clean and deadly, while I aimed to cause as much destruction as possible.
The sound of screams echoed through the hallways, maids and staff scrambling to escape the onslaught.
I kicked open a door, revealing a lavish sitting room, and fired at a chandelier, sending it crashing to the floor. If the bastard thought he could hide, he was sorely mistaken.
“Where is he?” I barked at a cowering maid who had pressed herself against the wall. She shook her head, tears streaming down her face.
“I-I don’t know!” she stammered.
I didn’t have time for cowards. I moved past her, into another room. Roland joined me a moment later, his expression grim.
“Nothing upstairs,” he reported. “No sign of him.”
“He’s here,” I growled. “He wouldn’t run. He’s too arrogant for that.”
In the corner of the room, a manservant tried to slip away unnoticed. I was on him in seconds, grabbing him by the collar and slamming him against the wall.
“Where is he?” I demanded, shoving the photo of the man into his face. “Where’s your boss?”
The man servant’s eyes darted around wildly, his terror evident. “H-he’s not here! He hasn’t been home all day, I swear! I don’t know where he is!”
“Wrong answer,” I said coldly, cocking my gun and pressing it against his temple.
“Wait! Please, I’m telling the truth!” he begged, his voice breaking.
The rage bubbling inside me was uncontrollable. I’d come here for answers, and I wasn’t leaving without them.
The thought of pulling the trigger was tempting, the idea of silencing his pathetic cries almost satisfying, but before I could act, a deafening gunshot rang out from above.
I froze, my instincts kicking in. Roland spun around, his weapon raised, but I held up a hand to stop him. Slowly, I looked up toward the source of the noise.
There he was.
The man we’d been hunting stood on the second-floor balcony, a cigar clamped between his teeth and a rifle aimed directly at me.
He was older than I’d expected, his face weathered but his eyes sharp and dangerous. Smoke curled around him as he exhaled, the faint glow of his cigar the only light in the dim room.
“Sebastian,” he drawled, his voice calm, almost amused. “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?”
His smirk was infuriating, and before I could respond, he pulled the trigger.
The shot grazed my shoulder, the searing pain sharp but manageable. I ducked behind a nearby sofa for cover, my mind racing. Roland returned fire, but the man moved quickly, disappearing from view.
“Roland!” I called out, clutching my shoulder as blood seeped through my shirt.
“I’m on it!” Roland replied, moving toward the staircase.
The next few minutes were a blur of gunfire and shouted orders. The man was quick, using the mansion’s layout to his advantage.
He fired from the shadows, his aim deadly accurate, but we weren’t amateurs. Roland and I worked together, flushing him out room by room, cornering him until he had nowhere left to run.
“You think you’re clever?” the man taunted as he backed into a corner, his cigar still burning. “You think you can just waltz into my home and take me down?”
“I don’t think,” I said, stepping forward, my gun trained on him. “I know.”
He laughed, a deep, guttural sound that only fueled my anger. “You’ve got guts, I’ll give you that. But guts won’t save you.”
“Neither will arrogance,” I shot back.
For a moment, we stared at each other, the tension thick in the air. Then, with a speed that took me by surprise, he lunged forward, aiming to disarm me.
We grappled, the fight brutal and unrelenting. He was stronger than I’d anticipated, his movements calculated and precise, but I had something he didn’t: purpose. This wasn’t just a mission for me. This was personal.
With a well-placed kick, I sent him sprawling to the ground. His rifle skidded across the floor, out of reach. I stood over him, my gun aimed at his chest.
“Any last words?” I asked, my voice cold and unwavering.
He smirked, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. “Yeah. You’ll never really know who’s behind it all.”
I frowned, his words unsettling. Before I could press him further, the sound of approaching sirens filled the air. Someone must have called the police.
“Roland, we’re done here,” I said, keeping my gun trained on the man as Roland approached.
“What about him?” Roland asked, nodding toward the man on the floor.
I hesitated for a moment before lowering my weapon. “Let the cops have him. He’s not worth the bullet.”
As we left the mansion, the sirens growing louder, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t over. The man’s cryptic words echoed in my mind, a warning that there was more to this than I realised.
And I intended to find out exactly what.