Chapter 12 - The Iron Queen
The remaining hours before the midnight meeting were spent in absolute, highly calculated preparation inside the underground bunker.
I absolutely refused to wear a fragile, elegant evening gown to a deadly meeting with a ruthless cartel boss.
Instead, I wore a perfectly tailored, sharp black suit over a highly advanced, lightweight Kevlar bulletproof vest.
Enzo spent two intense, grueling hours aggressively teaching me how to draw and fire a compact, lethal tactical handgun.
The heavy, cold metal of the loaded weapon felt completely unnatural and terrifying in my small, trembling hands.
But every single time I visualized Isabella Santiago threatening my innocent son, my grip instantly became fiercely unshakable.
"Keep both of your eyes entirely open, and do not hesitate for a single microsecond," Enzo instructed loudly over the gunfire.
I pulled the heavy trigger violently, placing three perfect, lethal shots directly into the center of the paper target's chest.
Alessandro stood silently in the dark shadows of the shooting range, watching my violent transformation with immense, burning pride.
He walked slowly up behind me, wrapping his strong, muscular arms securely around my waist and pressing a kiss to my neck.
"You will absolutely only use that weapon if the entire security perimeter completely falls apart," he whispered fiercely into my ear.
"I vow on my own miserable life that I will permanently end Isabella before she ever gets within ten feet of you."
I leaned deeply back against his solid, comforting chest, silently praying that his absolute confidence would be enough.
We left the secure compound in a massive, heavily armored convoy consisting of six identical black tactical vehicles.
The designated meeting location was a massive, entirely abandoned shipping shipyard located on the desolate edge of the city.
Freezing rain began to violently lash against the bullet-resistant windows as our heavy convoy pulled into the dark, rusting shipyard.
Dozens of heavily armed, terrifying cartel mercenaries were already waiting in the shadows, holding high-powered automatic rifles.
Enzo aggressively parked our lead vehicle directly in the center of the massive, illuminated concrete loading dock.
Alessandro gracefully stepped out of the vehicle first, his heavy tailored overcoat blowing wildly in the freezing wind.
I stepped out bravely right behind him, my high heels clicking loudly and confidently against the wet concrete floor.
A completely stunning, incredibly dangerous woman wearing a blood-red leather trench coat slowly emerged from the dark shadows.
Isabella Santiago smiled a cold, entirely lethal smile that completely failed to reach her dead, terrifying black eyes.
"I honestly expected the famous Catherine Winters to be a crying, pathetic little mouse," Isabella mocked loudly over the wind.
I did not flinch, panic, or look away from her aggressive, deeply unsettling stare for a single second.
"You are currently standing on my absolute territory, Isabella, so I highly suggest you watch your disrespectful tone."
The massive, heavily armed cartel mercenaries completely froze in sheer shock at my unbelievable, suicidal audacity.
Isabella let out a dark, genuinely terrifying laugh that echoed violently off the rusting shipping containers.
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"You legally owe me thirty million dollars, little mouse, and I am going to aggressively collect it in cash or in blood."
I looked directly into the ruthless cartel leader's eyes, fully prepared to unleash absolute, terrifying hell to protect my family.
