Chapter 9 - The Summit of ShadowsClara tumbled out of the hidden brick alcove onto the upper floor of the estate’s secure panic room, pulling Leo tightly into her arms. They both hit the floor in a tangle of dust, soot, and bruised limbs.
Leo was crying softly, coughing from the smoke and dust, but he was alive. Clara held him close, her chest heaving as she checked him over frantically. "Are you okay? Did you get hurt, Leo?"
Leo nodded tearfully, burying his face in her soot-stained shirt. "Scared... I want Daddy."
"I know, sweetie. I know," Clara whispered, wiping a streak of black soot off his cheek with her thumb, ignoring the blood dripping from a small scrape on her own elbow.
Suddenly, the heavy steel security door of the panic room hissed open.
Rico stood in the doorway, his chest heaving, his face covered in soot and blood. For a terrifying second, he looked like a monster straight out of a nightmare. But when his eyes landed on Clara and his son huddled safely in the corner, the terrifying facade melted away entirely.
He dropped his weapon, falling heavily to his knees.
"Leo," Rico choked out, his voice cracking with an emotion he hadn't allowed himself to feel in six months.
Leo lifted his head, seeing his father covered in blood. Instead of screaming or running away, the three-year-old let out a sob and scrambled out of Clara's arms, launching himself directly into his father's chest.
Rico caught him, wrapping his arms around his son with a fierce, desperate strength, burying his face in Leo's hair as his shoulders shook. For the first time since Elena died, the Butcher of Brooklyn wept.
Clara sat back against the stone wall, pulling her knees up to her chest, watching the father and son embrace. She felt an overwhelming wave of exhaustion wash over her, closing her eyes as the adrenaline finally began to fade from her veins.
"Clara," Rico's voice broke through her thoughts.
She opened her eyes. Rico was looking at her. He was still holding Leo securely with one arm, but his other hand reached out, gently grabbing her soot-stained, bleeding hand.
"You saved him," Rico whispered, his blue eyes burning with an intense, fierce devotion that terrified and captivated her in equal measure. "You saved us both."
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"I just did what anyone would do," Clara breathed, her voice trembling.
"No," Rico said, his grip tightening gently around her hand. "No one else in this city would have dared walk toward the fire. You're not leaving this estate, Clara. Ever."
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