Better In Your Arms (Parisian Mafia 2#)

16

Chapter 16: Battle Lines Drawn

The dockyard erupted in a blur of movement, gunfire crackling in the night as both sides sprang into action. Lawrence ducked behind a stack of crates, pulling Amari with him just as bullets whizzed past their heads. The tension that had been simmering exploded into full-blown violence.

“Amari, go left with Marcus and flank them! I’ll handle the right!” Lawrence shouted over the noise, his heart pounding in his chest. This was it—the moment they had been preparing for, and there was no turning back now.

Amari nodded sharply, her expression fierce. "Be careful, Lawrence." She gave him one last look, the weight of their unspoken bond hanging between them. With that, she sprinted toward Marcus and the rest of their team.

Lawrence moved swiftly, his mind laser-focused on the battle at hand. The Montemayor guards weren’t pushovers—they were well-trained and merciless—but Lawrence had years of experience behind him. He returned fire, each shot precise, taking down two of Felipe’s men in quick succession.

Across the dockyard, Amari led Marcus and the others through the shadows. Their goal was to intercept the shipment and cut off the Montemayors’ supply of weapons, crippling their operations. As they moved closer to the warehouse, Amari’s heart raced—not from fear, but from adrenaline. This was what she had been trained for, and she wasn’t about to let her family down.

Inside the warehouse, the shipment loomed ahead—a series of crates marked with dangerous symbols, each filled with weapons that could turn the tide of the war in Felipe’s favor. Amari crouched low, signaling to Marcus and the others to surround the area.

“Take them out quietly,” she whispered, her voice cold and calm.

Her team moved like ghosts, eliminating the guards one by one with expert precision. Amari crept toward the crates, her eyes scanning for any remaining threats. Just as she reached for the first box, a figure appeared from the shadows—a man, larger than any of the others, with a scar running down his face.

"You thought you could sneak in here unnoticed?" the man growled, his voice thick with menace.

Amari didn’t hesitate. She raised her weapon and fired, but the man was faster than she expected. He lunged at her, knocking her off balance and sending her gun skittering across the floor.

They grappled for control, Amari using every ounce of strength to fend him off. He was stronger, but she was faster. With a swift move, she brought her knee up into his ribs, causing him to stagger back in pain. In the split second he was off-balance, she grabbed a nearby crowbar and swung it hard, striking him across the face.

The man collapsed, unconscious. Breathing heavily, Amari retrieved her weapon and signaled to Marcus. "Secure the shipment. We need to blow it."

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Back on the dock, Lawrence found himself face-to-face with Felipe. The two men stared each other down, the years of animosity boiling between them.

"How many times do we have to do this, Lawrence?" Felipe taunted, his voice dripping with venom. "You know you can’t win."

Lawrence’s expression remained cold, but there was a fire in his eyes. "I’m not here to win, Felipe. I’m here to end this."

Felipe laughed, a dark, hollow sound. "End it? You think killing me will solve anything? This fight between our families has been going on for generations. It won’t stop with us."

Lawrence’s grip tightened on his gun. "Maybe not. But it’s a start."

Felipe’s smile faded, replaced by a look of pure hatred. "You’re a fool, Stuart. And tonight, you’ll die like one."

Before Lawrence could react, Felipe drew his weapon, firing in rapid succession. Lawrence dodged, rolling behind a crate as bullets splintered the wood around him. He returned fire, his shots aimed with deadly accuracy, but Felipe was just as quick.

The two men engaged in a deadly dance of gunfire, each one narrowly avoiding death with every move. The dockyard around them was in chaos, but Lawrence’s world had narrowed to this one moment—to this one enemy.

"You took everything from me," Felipe shouted, his voice raw with emotion. "My father, my brothers—they’re dead because of your family."

"And how many of mine have you killed, Felipe?" Lawrence shot back, his voice cold. "This isn’t about revenge. It’s about stopping this cycle before more people die."

Felipe’s face twisted with rage, and he lunged at Lawrence, abandoning his gun in favor of close combat. Lawrence braced himself as the two men collided, fists flying as they fought with raw, primal fury.

For a moment, it seemed as though Felipe had the upper hand, his strength overpowering Lawrence. But Lawrence wasn’t just fighting for himself—he was fighting for Amari, for his family, for a future where they could finally be free of the Montemayors’ shadow.

With a surge of energy, Lawrence twisted out of Felipe’s grip and landed a devastating punch to his gut, followed by a hard strike to his jaw. Felipe stumbled back, dazed.

Lawrence didn’t hesitate. He grabbed Felipe by the collar, dragging him to his feet.

"This ends now," Lawrence said, his voice a low growl.

Before Felipe could respond, Lawrence slammed him against the side of a shipping container. Felipe’s head struck the metal with a sickening thud, and he crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

Lawrence stood over him, breathing heavily, his chest heaving with the effort of the fight. It was over. Finally.

He looked around, scanning the dockyard for any remaining threats. The sound of explosions echoed in the distance—Amari and Marcus had succeeded in blowing the shipment.

The Montemayors’ operation was in shambles.

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Minutes later, Lawrence found Amari near the warehouse, covered in dust and grime but very much alive. Relief washed over him as he pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly.

"It’s over," Lawrence whispered into her hair, his voice filled with exhaustion but also with triumph.

Amari looked up at him, her eyes shining with the same mix of relief and victory. "We did it."

Lawrence nodded, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. "Yeah. We did."

But even as they stood there, victorious, Lawrence couldn’t shake the feeling that this was only the beginning. The Montemayors might be down, but they weren’t out. There would be more battles to fight, more challenges ahead.

But for now, they had won. And that was enough.

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