This was written for the Trials Of Love contest, for the @Action profile

https://www.wattpad.com/733306730-trials-of-love-obstacles-by-action

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Angel Santiago was a man on a mission. The fire in his heart, that great force fuelling his actions, was second only to his burning desire for Irina Contanna. Angel had never intended to fall for the daughter of the biggest crime lord in the country, but he couldn't help the circumstances that had led him to this very moment, stowed away on an aircraft carrier surrounded by the enemy.

As he worked the screws loose from the storage space he had locked himself in, he couldn't help but picture Irina's beguiling grey-blue eyes. The first time he saw her he had whipped his head around so quickly he almost got whiplash. And he would never forget the jolt in his heart, and the silence that followed, when they had introduced themselves. 

He knew she loved him. But Rina was too afraid to leave her father. And rightly so. No one crossed the powerful crime boss, Carlos Contanna. No one would ever be foolish enough to take Carlos and his entire cartel head on. No one but Angel.

He crawled out into the cargo hold. A figure in a black combat suit and Kevlar vest, his movements were smooth and silent, although he had no fear of being heard over the heavy thrum of the plane engines.

Around a large crate stood a man in a dark suit. One of the killers, rapists, and low-life scumbags Carlos was apt to employ. After working two years undercover in the crime boss's cartel, Angel was sick of them all.

Angel's hands came around the man's neck and snapped it in a swift action. A second man stood farther away, turning and raising his gun. Angel's arm swung out and a knife shot into the man's chest, penetrating his heart.

Footsteps pounded on metal. Two other men entered and raised pistols at him. Angel ducked behind the crate as shots rang out, then dove out and opened fire, cutting them both down as he rolled back up to his feet.

He stayed behind a metal beam, waiting for any other incoming guards. When nothing else was heard, he moved out into the open and cautiously approached the doorway, feeling exposed.

The crates were filled with weapons, and others contained copious amounts of cocaine. Angel hadn't just stowed upon any of Carlos's planes. He had waited for the mother-load to head towards Carlos's island stronghold.

It had been a week since Angel was cut from the force, after his affair with Rina had come to light - as well as his identity as a cop in Carlos's cartel - but he didn't want any back-up for this mission. He had always worked best alone. And a part of him knew this was a one way ticket.

A carpeted corridor spread out ahead of him. A door to the side opened up and he saw the rifle coming out before the rest of the man stepped through. Rookie mistake.

Angel launched himself up onto the man, spinning over his shoulders, and brought him down and slammed the man's back into the raised threshold of the doorway, cracking bones.

Sparing quick glances around as he picked up the rifle, Angel headed for the cockpit door at the end of the corridor.

He pulled the heavy handle and shoved his way inside. Two pilots snapped their heads around with wide eyes.

"This is going to be real easy," he said with the rifle on them. "You two are gonna take those parachutes under your chairs and hop out the side. Right now."

There was some resistance, of course, but after ramping up the threats while also reasoning with them, he got them to take the parachute packs. They were innocent pilots, and Angel had no intention of killing innocents. There had been enough of that already. Including his partner, Pedro. His best friend had been one of the many casualties at the hands of Carlos.

Gunfire tore through the cockpit, bullets pinging off the console and sending out sparks. Angel caught a glimpse of two men with rifles coming down the corridor as he fired back and slammed the door shut. Both pilots had been ripped apart by the bullets. 

Angel cursed. He thought fast. The guards would be on him any second.

Out the window, he saw they were above the island of Carlos's mansion. Trees and grassland gave way to a concrete jungle, where the centrepiece was a twelve thousand square foot mansion, that was as flashy and garish as its owner. The shimmering blue of the Pacific Ocean spread out all around, as if the entire world consisted of this island.

Angel grabbed the controls and shoved them forward. The plane lurched downwards, dropping his stomach as the world shifted. The ocean filled the view outside.

Quickly hooking a parachute strap over one shoulder, Angel raised the rifle and opened fire on the window. The cockpit door burst open and the guards had a second to see Angel standing there, firing into the thick glass that starred with cracks, before the entire window exploded.

A rush of fierce wind sucked them out into the open air with a violent jerk. Angel spun wildly in the air. The parachute backpack had fallen free and, once he had re-orientated himself, he saw it hovering a dozen feet from him. The two suited men were flailing in the air; dark shapes against the bright sky.

Angel straightened his body and cut through the air, the wind pulling back his hair and whipping his clothes. He reached out for the chute.

Bullets zoomed by him. He spun in the air, pulling a pistol out, and fired into the falling man who had the perseverance to shoot at him. Angel flipped back around and reached for the parachute. The island was coming up to him very fast now.

His fingers reached out for the bag. The island filled his view.

He got a hold of the strap, yanked it over him while he spun round and pulled the cord. His entire body jolted as the chute opened. A grassy area with large hedges and sculptures was out front, and Angel aimed for that.

Figures moved below. More armed guards who had seen him. Angel looked up in time to see the plane, far off ahead of him, crash into the ocean in a huge explosion that sent up a pillar of water.

He could take some relief in knowing he had struck such a large blow to Carlos's business. Bullets zinged by him.

Angel managed to fire a few shots back before he hit the ground. Hard. He unclipped his chute and sent it sailing into several men as he rolled and pulled out his gun. He shot several bullets into the shapes outlined by the chute.

Ducking behind a marble statue of some naked guy, Angel caught his breath and prepared himself for the next step. He took a moment to realise how ridiculous his actions had been. But he knew one thing: he would rather die without Rina than go on living without her. A part of him just wanted to see her again, even if it was the last thing he ever did.

He broke into a run across the lawn as four more guards rushed towards him. Their shots thudded into the ground by Angel's feet and cracked into a nearby statue. He reached down beside the chute and pulled a grenade from a dead man's belt, and threw it at the guards.

The grenade popped with a deafening roar, throwing out bodies and flames among the dirt. Angel ran through the dissipating debris, clearing the smoke like a supernatural being entering the world.

As he approached the large front doors of the mansion, he kicked up an assault rifle. The lobby was made up of a wide staircase between large pillars that reached up to the domed roof.

Angel headed up the stairs, his boots thudding in the eerily quiet air. Shots rang out as a jolt of pain hit him in the back of a shoulder. He hit the ground at the top of the stairs, grimacing, and spun back to fire into a guard below.

The bullet had struck his vest but still stung like hell. 

He looked up to see the flesh-coloured door at the end of the hallway that marked his destination. He was so close.

Flashes of Rina and her perfect smile came to him as he approached the door. His connection with Rina had been so strong from the start. He had never felt so suddenly and deeply with anyone before. He thought he could even smell her honey-scented perfume in the hallway. 

Angel held the rifle in front of him as he reached the door, waited a beat, and then kicked it in.

Three men immediately opened fire on him, spread out between the chairs and tables of the wide living space. Angel dove to the side of a sofa as bullets struck pillows and threw out feathers.

When one of the men slowly approached, checking on their enemy, Angel shot up and his palm cracked into the man's nose. He pulled the man in front of him as the other two fired, their shots hitting the man while Angel fired back with several bullets to their chests.

And just like that, there was only Angel and Rina.

She was a vision in her shorts and crop top, her dark hair around her shoulders, the sun beaming in from her balcony and bathing her in a heavenly light.

"What the hell are you doing here, puta?" She had always been one for words.

"We never finished our talk."

She glared at him with those large eyes filled with fury. He was so turned on.

"I told you, I don't love you," she said.

"And I don't believe that."

"Get out of here, Angel!"

"Not until you accept what we have. Or what we had." He stepped closer to her. "I know you better than anyone else. And you know me. You've always been able to see through me. Think about how good we could be together. Just think about it."

She paused, her shoulders slumping, and for a moment he thought he could see her barriers coming down. Just a bit.

Her plump lips parted with an unspoken plea. Then a shot rang out and her shoulder exploded in blood, throwing her down.

Angel spun around and, for the first time today, his heart raced. Carlos Contanna stood in the doorway, his chest puffed out and pulling at his suit jacket. Through the smoke rising from the gun in his hand, his puffy face was lined with a troubled frown.

Angel moved for Rina but Carlos trained the gun on him.

Carlos let out a deep sigh. "You were like a son to me. I loved you. But you should never have come back." He stepped closer with a sadness in his eyes. 

Rina gasped and held a hand to her shoulder as she lay on the ground.

"If you'd truly wanted your daughter to be happy," Angel said, "more than you wanted to control her, you would have given your blessing."

Carlos came closer to him, aiming the gun at Angel's head, and prepared to fire. He cried out suddenly and jerked back, the shot going wide, as Rina plunged a knife into her father's ankle. 

Angel snatched the gun from Carlos, then helped Rina up. The boss slumped into a chair, throwing up more loose feathers. 

Carlos stared at his daughter with unbelieving, strained eyes. 

"I'm sorry, papa," she said. "But I love him." 

Carlos winced in pain. "I will find you. Wherever you go. You're both dead to me."

Rina stepped closer to her father, a hand on her bloodied shoulder. 

"If you do love me," she said, "and want to be in the life of your grandchild." Her hand moved to her stomach. "Then I hope you do find us one day."

Stunned at the revelation, Angel curled an arm around Rina. They said their goodbyes to Carlos, and left to start their new life together.