Page 147 of Stormhold

That was more than bad. It was terrible fucking news.

“Are all the tunnels connected?” Bella’s brows furrowed.

“Not really. When this house was built, Arkane used a part of the tunnel for the basement prison and blocked this.” Mikhail pointed to the area on the print that had a large blue cross. “It connects it to the main house.”

So DeLuca was simply a decoy to throw off the scent of Hagen. I’ve known the city’s mayor has been in the White Hand’s pocket for a while now, but I didn’t know it was to this extent. He’s been the one housing the Surmans all along. I should’ve fucking killed him a long time ago when I had the chance.

“What’s the good news?” I asked.

“He stole package four, which is why our system didn’t catch it,” Mikhail replied.

Some relief touched my bones. So the White Hand is aware of these peculiar details. Only those with a high level of clearance could have had access. Did he somehow manage to get it from Marcus, or was it Marcus himself?

Bella frowned at us. “What does that mean?”

“Not much,” I told her. “It isn’t enough to take down this house, but…” I eyed the print on the table. “Strong enough to knock that down. They’re using it to gain entry inside the house,” I stated the obvious, and Bella let out a sigh.

Mikhail straightened, turning to me. “What do we do?” he asked the heavy question.

All eyes in the room fixed on me, waiting for my instructions. Almost like they trusted me to give them the right answer. The throb in the back of my head intensified. It was like I suddenly lost all ability to fucking think.

Their entire plan was based on one factor. Surprise. Only they didn’t have that advantage anymore, but I didn’t have fucking time.

“We do nothing,” I said slowly. “Let them do what they came to do. Only we’ll be prepared to fight.”

“Do you think that’s wise?” Bella’s eyes searched mine. “They’re here for you.”

“We have no choice,” I admitted. We didn’t have time. We didn’t know the fucking situation outside. We didn’t have strength in numbers.

The depths of her brown eyes held me captive for a second before she slowly nodded. “Let’s do this then.”

The air charged high as we all quickly got to work. We knew what was at stake here. Within minutes, we were all armed head to toe, prepared for the fight of our lives.

Bella strapped her blade to the sheath inside her skirt and turned to Shouma. “I want you to get my sisters out of here,” she said in Japanese. “I want you to keep them safe, and if I don’t make it, take care of them.”

He narrowed his eyes. “I’ll keep them safe for now, but not forever, so you better make it out.”

She completely ignored him and went on with the rest of her blades. Those two worked in a different synergy that almost made my blood boil. It also didn’t help that I recently learned they had roomed together for almost five years in the Valerian Mountain. It didn’t seem fair to act like a caveman when my wife only had eyes for me, but I couldn’t help it.

“How much longer do we have?” Shouma asked, clocking his guns.

“Not much,” Bella told him as we walked over to the drawing room where we last left her sisters.

“Hey, you’re back…” The words on Ella’s lips died when she looked at the four of us, decked head to toe in weapons.

“Don’t ask anything,” Bella said pointedly to her sisters. “But leave now with Shouma-kun. He’ll keep you safe.”

“What, why?” Ariel jumped to her feet, a frantic haze in her eyes. “Are we in danger?”

Bella’s expression didn’t slip. “No time for questions,” she said in a no-nonsense tone. “Go now.”

Shouma was already by their side, ushering them out, but they wouldn’t move, their terrified gaze fixed on Bella.

“What about you?” Ella demanded, worry shining in her blue eyes, while Ariel looked like she was almost in a trance of sorts.

“I’ll be fine,” Bella assured, standing firm on her word. “Leave now.”

Ella reluctantly nodded. “Be careful, Bellebelle,” she said, donning a jacket before tugging a dazed Ariel along with her. And Shouma nodded to Bella before he disappeared with them.