With Love

Chapter Seventeen

**WARNING violent content may be shown in this chapter, please be advised.**

Hello Everyone!

For this chapter please imagine that the shipping container warehouse is MASSIVE because they usually are.

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The harbor where cargo ships unloaded their shipments was located in Brooklyn, diagonal to lower Manhattan. The view offered a beautiful skyline of downtown manhattan and if you looked closely further into the river, Lady Liberty herself stood tall on her island.

The night sky was balmy, alluding to summer just around the corner. Harvey and the other drivers parked the SUVs on the residential street across from the entrance to the harbor terminal warehouse where all shipments were stored and cleared for customs.

Customs usually, is no issue for my family given we have strict support from certain levels of authority within law enforcement including an array of politicians in and around New York State. However, this time around the drug lords of Brooklyn caught wind of what exactly was stored in these shipping containers and have exploited my family.

The first SUV where Elijah and others were, emptied and each person disappeared over the fence of the property and into the shadows. My group would only leave once Finn and Theo arrived. I told them to take a few laps around the residential streets, much to their enjoyment and Jasper's despair.

We geared up, preparing ourselves with protective vests and the necessary ammunition. Jasper received confirmation that Elijah's team had gotten into their positions.

A loud revving engine purred as it came to a stop outside the gates to the harbor. Jasper hissed in anger. "They're going to completely ruin the engine, assholes."

I clamped my lips shut to stop from laughing and focused my attention on the perfect timing to exit the SUV. I caught a glimpse of Finn's white hair in the semi-darkness. Someone exited the warehouse and approached the gate from the inside. The man wore jeans and a t-shirt with a semi-automatic weapon across his chest. Not the typical security guard then.

I felt myself suck in a breath as Theo spoke to the guard. Finn, thankfully, kept his mouth shut the whole time while waiting for the confirmation that they could enter. After a series of back and forth, the guard walked to the small security booth and pressed a button, opening the automatic sliding gate.

Once they drove through, we climbed out of the SUV. Instead of the guard following the car into the warehouse, he sat in the booth.

We casually stood on the other side of the car, where the guard couldn't see. "Luca," I murmured, "take care of the guard."

Luca nodded his head and slipped his hood over his head before casually walking across the street. With a few skilled steps, he hopped over the fence, landing silently. We all watched him carefully make his way around the security booth before entering. The light in the booth itself was off, giving us no sight as to what happened in the small space.

But after a few moments, the gate slid open and Luca walked out of the gate, signaling the all-clear. We made our way across the street and through the gate. Luca stood with the assault rifle in his hand. "These guys are packing M4's here," he said in an off-tone.

He handed it off to Harvey before looking back to me for instructions. My thoughts raced at the new revelation of just how dangerous these men were. "Okay," I mumbled to myself, "only engage if you need to, otherwise hold off and stay in the shadows. Don't get cornered and stick to the buddy system."

No one laughed at the term but nodded their heads in agreement, the tension much more serious now. We fanned out, checking the surrounding crates around and vehicles outside. Harvey and Lorenzo stayed with Jasper and me on our way to the warehouse.