~ Niamh ~
The dust hadn't even settled from the arrival of the Romanovs and the O'Connors before the air in the clearing turned tense.
A gentle breeze blew through the abandoned warehouse lot, whistling through the rusted iron structures as if the earth itself was acknowledging the staggering amount of power currently standing on this patch of dirt.
I looked around, my pulse thrumming in my ears. With the combined forces of the Romanovs and my traitorous family, the Valentinos were heavily outnumbered.
But I knew that with the Valentino soldiers stationed strategically at hidden positions, their fingers no doubt itching on their triggers, we had the element of surprise as an advantage.
I realized then, with a jolt of cold clarity, that I was the only woman present in a sea of hundreds of hard-faced, armed men.
The three syndicates formed a tense, triangular shape in the center of the lot. The Valentinos held the point, standing firm against the weight of the other two.
