Taken By The Mafia Lord

Both leaders had their captives on their sides and Marcel's gaze fell on Winters. Just like Macy, her mouth was gagged and he could see bruises at the corner of her face. Marcel did not complain, if any he was grateful, because, unlike Macy, she was in a better condition.

He looked at Winters who gestured to him with her eyes and Marcel slightly narrowed his gaze, trying to understand the signal she was giving him. Her eyes moved to Richardo and he tried not to stare too much so as not to draw attention to their silent conversation.

"Fine, we'd pass the captives over at the count of three," Richardo told him.

"Agreed," Marcel said.

"Now, at the count of one… two… three,"

Marcel pushed Macy forward, and at the same time Richardo released Winters as well and both women walked over to meet their people. However, Winters had other plans because instead of joining Marcel, she got in Macy's way and headbutted her right in the nose and she cried out in pain. That was her punishment for getting her involved in her revenge and betraying Marcel.

Unfortunately, that was the cue needed for all hell to break loose. Of course, Marcel knew that Winters would be their first target, they knew how much the young girl meant to him and her death would be a huge loss to him. So he protected her, firing at Richardo, more like his replacement.

Marcel knew the moment he arrived here and saw him in a mask that he wasn't the real Richardo. He was not born this morning and even before he took over the family trade, Marcel often followed his father Daniel to negotiations like this.

And so far, it wasn't uncommon to see cowards who bail out at the last minute of a deal and use another person in the place, the willing sacrifice. If there was anything Daniel taught him so far, it was to think like his enemy. Richardo was a nobody and it was obvious, even to Macy that he was going to die in this negotiation today.

Marcel was not going to let him survive.

If Richardo was an honorable gangster, he would stand his place and fight to the end like a warrior. But then, he was no warrior, instead, he was a sneaky cockroach, who would do anything to survive. And that includes sending someone else in his place to poise as him and try to take him out.

The plan was lousy anyway. Why would anyone wear a gas mask if he didn't plan to release dangerous chemicals into the air? And out of everyone, why only him? The depot was an open space, and releasing such gas wouldn't achieve the result he wanted compared to a closed space unless the gas killed quickly.

And finally, Winters gave him that look, and his suspicion was confirmed. The replacement's role was to kill him by surprise once the deal was over, but Richardo was a fool and Marcel was ashamed to even think he thought of him as a problem in the first place.

Taking out the four of them was easy as pie, leaving only Macy who was sprawled on the ground, her hands covering her head. The men sent to get her were all dead and she was the only surviving person - Marcel left her alive on purpose.

"Marcel!" Winters called his name muffledly, her mouth still gagged, but that didn't stop her from throwing herself on him, hugging Marcel tightly.

Marcel reciprocated her hug, relieved at the contact. An error could have cost her life and he wouldn't know how to deal with that. Winters has come to become someone important in his life - one of his own.

But the hug didn't last because Winters pulled away and Marcel removed the tie from her mouth knowing she had a lot to say. She winced from the pain and flexed her jaw, before informing him hurriedly.

"As much as I appreciate this reunion, we have to get out of here, more are still coming. Richardo is working with …." Winters was still saying when a bullet hit Marcel from the back and he grunted in pain while a scream left her lips.

Oh no, terror-filled Winters and she froze on the spot. There was no way Marcel was going to die, right? Tears filled her eyes and she stood at the spot even as more bullets flew in their direction.

"Take cover now!" Samuel yelled orders to the other men standing their ground.

"We have to go now!" He dragged her arm, pulling her along.

"No, what about Marcel….?" Winters looked down, expecting to see him lying on the floor in his pool of blood but it was the opposite. Marcel was on his feet, returning shots for shots at his enemies in the dark. And it wasn't until he turned and yelled at her,

"What the fuck are you standing there for? Move it!"

Winters finally shook the shock away and realized that she was in the middle of a battlefield. She watched Macy get away and was tempted to go after her, but they were kind of in a perilous situation and overpowered.

Together, they got into a space between two containers and one of Marcel's soldiers shot down a man who came from behind while another fell from the top of the container, having been shot down.

"How?" Winters was befuddled and didn't understand how Marcel was still alive, she clearly saw him get shot. Unless he was a cat with nine lives, he better has an answer for this.

"Kevlar!" Marcel answered in the middle of throwing instructions to his men, "And you don't have one right now, so you better get behind me!"

Thanks to the intensity in his eyes, Winters didn't need to be told twice and got behind Marcel just as he shouted to his soldiers, "Diamond formation!"

In this position, everyone had a standard role and was flexible enough to the changing circumstances, providing coverage from all sides. They worked independently yet simultaneously as a team and Winters was protected in the middle.