Page 91 of His Forced Irish Mafia Bride

“Already mapped,” came the reply.

Good. From this point forward, everything would be direct.

We hit the outer perimeter without warning. There was no negotiation and no warning shot. We just went in.

The first barrier broke under the convoy’s impact. Glass and metal gave way, and the vehicles pushed through without slowing.

Inside, the defenders reacted too late. Men turned. Weapons came up. Commands started, but most of them never finished being spoken.

I stepped out first. A shot came from the left. I kept moving forward. Another shot followed, closer this time.

A man stepped into my path. I fired once. He fell before he could raise his gun.

I didn’t stop to check that he was dead. I kept going.

Gunfire moved through the space in short bursts. Every second mattered. No one hesitated.

Another barrier blocked the way. It broke the same way as the first.

My team spread out behind me. No one needed instructions. They already understood the pattern.

Clear the path. Keep moving. Don’t slow down.

A door ahead flew open. Two men stood inside with weapons raised.

I fired first. One went down, then the second. I stepped over them without stopping.

The building felt tighter as we moved deeper inside, like it was closing in around us. More voices came from ahead. More movement followed. Then people started reacting faster, but still not fast enough to stop us.

We pushed through the next space. The resistance there broke quickly. I didn’t focus on numbers. I focused on distance.

How far we still had to go. How many rooms stood between me and Maeve. A longer corridor opened ahead. This time, heavier security waited at the end of it.

They were ready now. That meant we were close. I raised my weapon.

We advanced again. The last barrier wasn’t a locked door. It was a room. Two guards stood inside.

They saw me first. One of them reached for his weapon. He didn’t finish the movement. The room went quiet after that as the men inside froze at the sight of our raised guns.

Not calm. Just cleared of resistance. I stepped in without slowing. Then I saw her.

Maeve. For a moment, everything else stopped mattering.

Sound dropped out first. Movement followed. The rest of the room faded behind her presence.

She stood there, but she didn’t look steady. One of the men near her shifted like he wanted to step between us. I didn’t look at him.

My attention stayed on her.

There was a mark on her arm where someone had held her too tightly. A bruise was forming near her shoulder. It shouldn’t have mattered in that moment, but it did. I walked toward her.

She didn’t step back.

She looked at me like she wasn’t sure what she was seeing was real. I stopped in front of her. No one in the room spoke.

I placed my hand on her shoulder for a moment. Simple contact. A way to confirm she was really there.

She let out a breath. I felt it more than I heard it, and I kept my expression steady.