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All four men stared through the windows with their guns ready.

“Who’s the man getting out?” Antonio turned from the window and walked over to Marco, handing him the binoculars. “He isn’t Rocco. Is he Wizard?”

Taking the binoculars, Marco raised them to his eyes. “No. I’ve never seen—” Confusion filled his voice, making Natalia stop praying so she could listen. “What’s he doing? Is he opening the trunk to take Lucia out?”

Antonio snatched the binoculars back and peered through them. “What is he—” Suddenly, Antonio reached for his cell phone. “Shoot him! Shoot—”

Natalia watched horror spread across the four men’s faces.

“He’s setting my men on fire!” Edoardo screamed.

Natalia raised her bound hands to her mouth to keep herself from screaming when gunfire erupted outside the building.

“Why aren’t they hitting him?” Marco yelled. “How are they missing him?”

“Because they’re returning fire.” Bruno gave Natalia a brief glance before pointing through the window, showing Antonio and Marco what they had missed. “There.” He pointed to one side of the window, then the opposite side. “I can’t see the back unless I go to the main office, but from the direction some of your men are firing, I’d say they’re taking gunfire from behind the building, too. They’ve caged your men in and are picking them off. The others are running to keep from being burned to a crisp.”

“I’ve never seen a weapon like that before. What is it?”

Marco stared at Bruno as if he were insane, disturbed by the appreciation audible in the other man’s voice.

“Call Rocco!” Antonio shouted. “Tell him to pull back his man or listen to Natalia die.”

Marco took out his phone, pressed a button, then held it in his palm so everyone could hear.

“Pull your man back, or—”

“What man?” Rocco interrupted him. “I’m not there yet. There was an accident, and traffic is barely moving.”

“Hang up and call Wizard!” Antonio ordered, uncaring that Rocco could hear him.

Marco ended the call and pressed another button.

“Call your man off, or you will—”

Natalia would have laughed at their expressions if she hadn’t been so terrified when Wizard’s laughter came through the speaker.

“Have your men lay down their weapons and raise their hands, or the next things he burns to the ground will be your and Lucia’s fathers’ homes after he’s finished here.”

Antonio’s eyes widened at hearing himself mentioned. Jerking the phone from Marco’s hand, he snarled at the inanimate device.

With everyone’s attention focused on Antonio, Natalia slowly rose to her feet. The stack of wood she had been leaning against was too high to reach, but the one beside her was lower. Moving unobtrusively, she slid sideways and reached for one of the wooden planks.

Antonio screamed into the phone, “You can listen to me kill—”

“I wouldn’t touch her if I were you.” Unlike Antonio, Wizard’s voice was calm and composed. “Several highly trained former military personnel should have their weapons aimed at your heads right now. Make one wrong move, and your brains will be plastered across the ceiling. Send Natalia outside. Once we have her, we’ll fall back and leave Lucia at the nearest gas station.”

“You’re bluffing!”

Glass shattered, followed by a heavy thud. Everyone turned to see Edoardo lying motionless on the floor.

Reflexively, Marco, Bruno, and Antonio ducked beneath the windows.

Natalia crept closer. All three men were crouched with their backs to her. Antonio had dropped the phone and was reaching for it, while Marco and Bruno peered toward the window.

Drawing a deep breath, Natalia swung the plank at Marco’s and Bruno’s heads. She intended to grab the first gun either man dropped, but her plan went awry when she felt the satisfying impact of the thick plank striking Marco’s skull.

Bruno fell backward, and Marco collapsed on top of him. Natalia continued swinging the plank at them, not even stopping when Antonio leaped up and aimed his gun at her.