The gunshot cracked through the night, shifting everything. Lorenzo turned fast, too fast for the eye to fully catch as his arm tightened around Matteo, pulling the boy hard against his chest as he twisted his body…shielding him.
Then a sharp impact hit as a bullet tore into Lorenzo’s side, he let out a low, controlled grunt but he didn’t fallnor even slow down.
“Get down, Now!” he barked.
This time, Matteo listened, the boy dropped, crouching behind the SUV door as Lorenzo shoved him there, positioning his own body between the child and the gunfire.
Chaos erupted around them with Lorenzo’s men returning fire with brutal precision. One went down, then another, the third dropped behind the second car.
But the attackers weren’t retreating rather they were relentlessly pushing forward.
