Chapter 134: Under Attack
Nico
"We are safe."
Blade said it calmly, almost casually, noticing the way my gaze kept shifting around the dining hall with quiet wariness while he simply continued eating his steak like there wasn’t a possibility that betrayal was already festering inside his own mansion.
I didn’t relax.
Couldn’t.
Blade had been the head of the Gallias Cartel for too long. Decades at the top without anyone truly daring to challenge him openly. Men feared him too much. Respected him too much.
And power like that eventually made people comfortable whether they realized it or not.
I couldn’t even blame him entirely.
That same complacency was the reason I was sitting here alive today.
Years ago, after Castilo sent me out of his house with nothing to my name, Blade crossed paths with me and instead of killing me like most cartel leaders would have done, he took me under his wing.
Fed me.
Protected me.
Gave me power.
It was also why he treated Gorilla—his second-in-command and the man expected to eventually take over the Gallias Cartel—with more ease than he should.
There was no competition between them.
At least not in Blade’s mind.
But Gorilla was greedy. Impatient. Violent in ways even cartel men found excessive.
He was the embodiment of evil, which worked perfectly in this business.
Just not toward the hand that fed him.
"You really think that?" I finally asked.
My eyes narrowed slightly as I gestured toward the food in front of him.
"If they can be this open then they can do anything. Even poison you."
Blade let out a rough chuckle from deep within his chest before shaking his head slowly.
"Poison..." he muttered almost amused. "You know me better than that."
He cut another piece of steak calmly.
"My enemies know better than to use such methods."
I gave a small nod because that part was true.
Blade would have been dead years ago if he hadn’t already crushed every enemy foolish enough to rely on poison or similar tactics. Men learned quickly in this world.
Or they died.
"...Still, Hassa must know that I came to see you already," I said after a moment.
My expression hardened again.
"He’ll go into hiding. You should find him and drag him here."
I leaned back slightly in my chair.
"Find out who’s behind him."
Blade listened quietly.
The hall remained silent for a beat before he finally nodded and reached behind him for the phone resting near the edge of the table.
I stayed alert the entire time.
The truth was simple.
Blade was the closest thing I ever had to a father.
But this was still cartel business.
And in this world, the people closest to you were usually the ones most capable of killing you.
Trusting anyone completely was stupidity.
Even him.
Outwardly I remained relaxed, but my elbows stayed slightly apart beneath the table, positioned carefully enough that I could instantly reach the guns hidden beneath my jacket if necessary.
Blade finally spoke once the call connected.
"Lawn," he said calmly into the phone. "Find Hassa and bring him to me."
There was a pause before he ended the call and placed the phone back down beside his plate.
"I’ll have to keep an eye on Gorilla from now on," Blade muttered, leaning back slightly in his chair with a troubled look settling onto his face.
"I expected too much from him."
I nodded slowly, about to respond when my phone suddenly began vibrating inside my pocket.
The sound instantly drew my attention away.
I pulled it out intending to silence it the second I saw Martin’s name flashing across the screen. Normally, if something urgent happened, he would simply send a message first.
The call stopped.
Then immediately rang again.
A frown formed on my face.
Martin would never call twice without reason.
I moved to answer the call instantly—
But before I could, the doors to the dining hall burst open violently.
Three armed men rushed inside.
Machine guns.
My body reacted before my mind fully caught up.
I was already on my feet abandoning the phone onto the table as both guns slid into my hands in one smooth movement from beneath my jacket.
The cold metal settled naturally into my grip.
The three men froze slightly upon seeing my weapons already aimed toward them.
My eyes narrowed dangerously.
Then I recognized the man in front.
Lawn.
Blade’s head of security.
Blade stood up sharply beside me glaring at them with irritation rather than fear.
"You know better than to interrupt me while eating, Lawn," he said coldly.
But Lawn didn’t stop walking.
His expression looked tense.
Wary.
The two armed men behind him quickly shut the doors after entering while scanning the hall nervously.
"We’re under attack," Lawn said immediately.
The atmosphere in the room shifted instantly.
Every muscle in my body tightened.
Lawn moved closer toward Blade while quickly detailing possible routes out of the mansion and how we would leave before the attackers managed to reach this part of the estate.
I lowered my guns slightly but didn’t holster them.
Not yet.
"We have enough men to kill them all," Blade replied sharply.
His voice still carried complete confidence.
But Lawn instantly shook his head.
And for the first time since entering the room, I saw genuine tension on his face.
"Half of our men have also betrayed us."
Silence crashed heavily into the hall.
Cold.
Deadly.
Blade’s expression darkened instantly.
"What?"
The single word came out low and dangerous.
Lawn swallowed hard before continuing.
"They opened the eastern gates themselves. Some of the guards inside the mansion already turned on us."
Gunfire suddenly echoed faintly through the mansion.
Then another burst followed.
Closer this time.
The sound bounced against the walls loudly enough that even Blade’s expression shifted completely now.
No more calm.
No more amusement.
Only calculation.
My phone continued vibrating against the table from where I had abandoned it moments ago.
Martin.
Calling again.
And again.
A cold feeling settled heavily in my stomach instantly.
Because Martin would never repeatedly call unless something was terribly wrong.
Blade slowly straightened to his full height, the age in him disappearing almost instantly beneath the dangerous aura that made men fear him for decades.
His eyes shifted toward me. Cold now. Sharp.
"They’re making their move too early," he muttered darkly.
But I was no longer thinking about timing.
I was thinking about survival.
Because if half the guards inside this mansion had already turned against Blade, then every hallway outside this dining hall had already become enemy territory.
Another burst of gunfire rang out. This time much louder.
Nearer.
The men beside Lawn instantly tightened their grips around their rifles while Lawn himself pulled his gun from beneath his jacket and moved closer toward Blade protectively.
My own guns remained steady in my hands.
Finger close to the trigger.
Safety already off.
The atmosphere inside the room became suffocatingly tense.
Nobody spoke for a brief moment.
Then—
A loud explosion suddenly shook the mansion.
The entire dining hall trembled violently.
Glasses shattered instantly.
The chandelier above us swayed hard enough that pieces of crystal rained onto the table and floor.
Smoke alarms immediately began blaring somewhere deeper inside the mansion while shouting erupted loudly beyond the hallways outside.
My instincts sharpened instantly.
That wasn’t a warning shot.
That was war.
