The warehouse stood on the edge of collapse.Smoke drifted through the air. Broken lights flickered overhead. The smell of gunpowder and burning metal lingered everywhere.
For one frozen moment, nobody moved.Rafael and Aria stared at each other across the room.She was bruised, exhausted, and bound.
He was covered in blood, dirt, and weeks of fear.But they were alive.
And after everything they had endured, that alone felt like a miracle.
Then the sound came.A deafening explosion echoed from somewhere above.
The entire building trembled violently.Everyone looked up.Another explosion followed.Then another.
The warehouse doors at the far end suddenly burst open.A flood of armed men poured inside.The atmosphere changed instantly.
Daniel's men turned in shock.
"No..."
One of the mercenaries stepped backward.
"More Romano forces?"
"No," another whispered fearfully.
"That's not Rafael's army."
