VENICE, ITALY

Tourists and locals alike filled the bustling Venetian streets, giving Deckard Shaw the perfect cover to stalk his unsuspecting target.

Carlos Delvine appeared to be a normal guy - apart from the fact that he was a weapons dealer who had a habit of selling faulty products. Delvine had clearly pissed off the wrong person, otherwise there wouldn't be a $300,000 hit on him.

Despite knowing he should be entirely focused on the job at hand, the Shaw's mind couldn't help but be consumed by his wife. His heart felt like it could burst from his chest at the thoughts of Natalie, the love of his life, running around after Owen in London, and getting into all sorts of danger.

He knew, deep down, that she was more than capable of handling herself (and taking care of his brother), but that didn't stop the ever-growing pit in his stomach from consuming him. It was like his organs were made of lead, and they just weighed him down with worry.

And as hard as he tried to push it away, there was this small voice in the back of his head, telling him that something wasn't right, and that something was going to happen to Natalie, or even Owen. It felt like some sort of twisted impending doom that hung over his family.

Forcing himself to focus, Deckard kept a close eye on Delvine, and watched as he stopped to admire something in the window of a small, rustic-looking shop. It forced the mercenary to do something similar, except with a small cart that held dozens of gorgeous flower bouquets.

He gently toyed with one of the white oriental lillies, the soft petals reminding him of the fact that they were his wife's favourite flowers. Natalie loved them so much that her wedding bouquet was made up nearly entirely of the white flowers, with the exception of some baby's breath for a little variation.

Despite wanting nothing more than to reminisce about the happiest day of his life, Deckard had to move on, as Carlos Delvine had begun to shuffle his way towards a narrow alley just to the right of the shop.

The mercenary wasted no time in carefully closing in on his target, taking the right that led him down the very same alley.

What Deckard wasn't expecting was the feeling of cold, hard metal pressed against the back of his head. He clenched his jaw in annoyance.

"Turn around." Delvine demanded, "Slowly."

Deckard slowly raised his hands and turned to find a smug looking Delvine pointing a pistol at his head. The man reeked of arrogance, and that self-confidence was entirely misplaced, considering he hadn't even managed to click the gun's safety off.

"I thought you were supposed to be a weapons dealer, Carlos." Deckard taunted, clicking his tongue as he tilted his head mockingly.

The man didn't even have time to formulate a response before the mercenary snatched the pistol from Delvine's hand and smacked him on the head with the handle.

It wasn't enough to knock him out, but it disorientated him enough for Deckard to wrap his hands around his neck and snap it.

Three targets down, two more to go.

LONDON

NATALIE'S HEAD RESTED IN the crook of Andy's neck, the woman sound asleep as her chest slowly rose and fell. After being patched up by her mother, the Shaw woman couldn't help but close her eyes whilst Andromeda ran her nimble fingers through her brown curls.

It was the most relaxed she had felt since Italy, which honestly felt like months ago with the amount that had happened since then. In reality, it had only been two days.

Andy could see the stress that was weighing on her daughter, and she knew that most of it was from her now-strained relationship with Owen. It broke her heart that Natalie was having to rehash the pain and grief that surrounded Leticia Ortiz, but she knew that eventually, all of it would be worth it when Letty recovered her memories.

The King woman's train of thought was interrupted by her daughter's phone vibrating on the wooden coffee table in front of them.

Carefully and gently, Andy shifted so that she could reach the device but keep Natalie as still as possible. Thankfully, the sleeping woman remained asleep, which prompted Andy to answer the call, which happened to be from Owen.

"I hear you've been causing a lot of trouble, Owen." Andy commented as she tried not to sound as pissed off as she felt.

Hearing Andromeda's voice confused Owen so much that he had to pull the phone away from his ear to check that he had dialled the right number.

"Andy? Where's Nats?" Owen questioned, confused about whether his sister-in-law was okay.

"She's sleeping 'cause she's absolutely bloody exhausted, and it's because of you." Andy retorted, "Not only have you been running her ragged all over London, you've been enacting some sort of psychological warfare using Letty, too."

"Those were never my intentions, and you know that! I'm not even the one that asked for her help - you're the one that decided to contact my sister-in-law." Owen retaliated. He was sick of this job - he just wanted it to be over and done with. He wanted his relationship with Natalie back, and he just wanted things to go back to the way they were before.

He never meant for any of this to happen, and he never wanted Natalie to get involved, much less hurt.

Usually Andromeda and Owen got along very well, but when it came to Natalie, or any other members of the family, they fought like dogs protecting their pack, even against each other. Yes, it made for a nasty fallout and an even nastier aftermath, but the family's safety came first - always.

Andy felt the sting of his words, but refused to let them hurt her too deeply. She had experienced far worse.

"Unless there's actually a reason for this call, I suggest you hang up now, before you dig yourself into a deeper hole that you won't be able to climb out of." Andy suggested, venom lightly lacing her tone. She heard Owen sigh before he spoke again, except this time his voice was gentle, almost exhausted.

"Look, can you just ask Nats to come to the base? The final part we need is in Spain, and after we retrieve it, this whole nightmare is over." Owen explained, "We'll never have to deal with Cipher again."

"Fine. She'll be there within the hour." Andy grumbled before hanging up the phone.

"LET ME GET THIS straight," Natalie began, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "you, Owen Shaw, want me to help you steal a whole ass NATO tank so that you can get a tiny computer chip?"

Owen nodded, not seeing anything wrong with his plan.

Natalie sighed before getting her phone out of her back pocket. She dialled a certain number before bringing the device to her ear.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Owen asked, wondering who she would possibly need to call at that very moment.

"I'm calling Queenie; I need to see if you were ever dropped on your head as a child," Natalie retorted, her sarcasm growing with every word. She hung up the phone before Magdalene Shaw could answer, and then she continued, "because that would explain why your plan is batshit crazy, Owen!"

The man in question winced at the woman's sharp voice echoing off the walls of the makeshift office, which Owen had taken as his, at their base.

"There are easier ways to steal a damn chip, and you know it." Natalie challenged, pointing a finger at Owen's chest with blazing fury in her eyes.

Owen gulped at the sight, before trying to plead his case.

"They'll never see it coming, and it would give us defence and offence that we currently don't have. Why shouldn't we take a joyride in a tank if we can complete the job at the same time?"

Natalie knew that Owen was too stubborn to be talked out of this plan - once he had an idea in his head, there was no getting rid of it. Determined little prick.

"Fine, I'll help... but I'm not getting in that damn tank, are we clear?"

"Crystal." Owen grinned.

Oh, that smile meant so much fucking trouble was about to be sent her way.

HAYLEY WRITES...
owen: i wanna steal a tank
nat: 👁️👄👁️... tf?

what is your favourite
duo in this book so far?

and is there anything you
wanna see more of in
'shut up and drive'?

thank you guys so much for
reading!

don't forget to comment and vote!

until next time, lovelies :)