Chapter 7 - Blood in the HallwaysThe gunfire started before they reached the second-floor landing.
Bang! Bang-bang!
The distinct, heavy crack of suppressed automatic weapons echoed up the sweeping staircase, shattering antique vases and riddling the pale stone walls with jagged bullet holes. Shards of crystal rained down like lethal confetti.
"Down! Get down!" Dominic roared, shoving Sophia flat against the carpeted floor as a burst of submachine gun fire chewed through the wainscoting inches above their heads.
Sophia screamed, covering her head with her hands, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped animal. Emma! My baby!
"Marcus!" Dominic shouted into his tactical comms-link, his voice razor-sharp and steady despite the chaos. "Status!"
"They’re professional hitmen, Boss—Romano’s cleanup crew!" Marcus yelled back over the deafening clatter of gunfire from the foyer below. "They breached the service elevator! We’ve got two down in the west wing, but they’re pushing toward the family suites!"
Dominic’s face turned into a mask of pure, unadulterated fury. Anyone who threatened his estate was a dead man walking; anyone who threatened the little girl who had called him a king was already in hell.
He turned to Sophia, his grip on her shoulder iron-tight.
"Listen to me very carefully," Dominic commanded, his dark eyes locking onto hers. "When I tell you to run, you run straight to the panic room behind the master walk-in closet. The code is four-eight-zero-nine. Do you understand?"
"And you?" Sophia choked out, staring at the pistol in his hand. "Dominic—"
"I’m going to clear the hallway," he interrupted fiercely.
Before she could argue, Dominic rolled out from behind the mahogany pillar, raising his Glock with practiced precision. Two muffled shots cracked through the corridor. A heavy thud echoed down the hall as a masked gunman tumbled over the mahogany railing, crashing onto the marble foyer far below.
"Run!" Dominic barked.
Sophia didn't hesitate. She scrambled to her feet and sprinted down the hallway toward the guest suite where Emma was sleeping.
As she burst through the door, she scooped up a terrified, crying Emma from the cot, wrapping her arms tightly around the little girl's small body. Mr. Hops fell forgotten to the floor.
"Mommy! What's that loud noise?" Emma sobbed, burying her face in Sophia’s neck.
"It's just thunder, sweetheart, everything is fine, Mommy's got you," Sophia lied, tears streaming down her face as she dashed toward the master walk-in closet Dominic had described.
She punched the digital keypad: 4-8-0-9.
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BEEP.
The heavy steel wall panel slid open silently, revealing a reinforced concrete sanctuary equipped with monitors, emergency supplies, and communications gear. Sophia dived inside, pulling the heavy door shut behind her just as heavy footsteps pounded down the hallway outside.
