Chapter 4 - A BULLET RIPPED THROUGH THE MANOR, BUT HER BODY BECAME HIS SON’S SHIELD AGAIN
The gala prep was interrupted before the sun even set.
I was standing near the glass balcony in the west wing, dressed in a sweeping dark emerald silk dress that masked the bandage wrapping around my back. Leo was sitting on the rug beside me, drawing pictures with crayons, when the air suddenly shattered.
CRACK!
A high-caliber sniper round shattered the bullet-resistant glass of the upper terrace. The heavy impact threw me backward onto the carpet.
CRACK! CRACK!
Automatic gunfire erupted from the outer gates of the estate. Red tracer rounds sliced through the twilight gloom outside. The alarm sirens began to wail, a deafening screech that filled the high ceilings.
“Maya!” Leo screamed, throwing his arms over his ears.
Instinct took over before my brain could process the terror. Ignoring the fiery pain ripping through my stitches, I threw myself over Leo, dragging him behind a massive mahogany desk. I wrapped my body around him completely, pinning his face to my chest.
The double doors of the bedroom were kicked off their hinges with a thunderous blast.
Two men in tactical gear with black ski masks rushed inside, suppressed rifles raised. “Clear the room! Find the kid!” one shouted in a harsh Italian accent.
My heart pounded against my ribs like a trapped bird. I reached around blindly behind the desk, my fingers searching for anything. They brushed against a heavy brass statuette resting on a low shelf.
As the boots of the first gunman rounded the desk, I didn't hesitate. I drove the solid brass statuette upward with all the force left in my aching body, striking him directly beneath his knee cap.
The man screamed in shock, collapsing sideways. Before he could raise his weapon, a deafening roar echoed down the hallway.
Dante stepped through the shattered doorway like a god of vengeance, a heavy silver pistol in his grip. Two shots fired in rapid succession. The gunmen dropped instantly to the hardwood floor, motionless.
Dante cleared the room in three steps, his boots crushing glass as he dropped to his knees in front of us. He grabbed my shoulders, checking my face, my hands, my back. His hands were shaking.
“Are you hit? Tell me!” he demanded, his voice laced with raw desperation.
“We’re okay,” I wheezed, my chest heaving as I loosened my grip on Leo. “Leo’s safe. I kept him safe.”
May you like
Dante looked at me—at the red blood seeping through my green silk dress where my stitches had ripped, and at the fierce, unyielding glare in my eyes. For the first time, the stone-cold crime boss looked entirely undone.
He didn't pull away. Instead, he pulled my head against his chest, wrapping his arms around both me and Leo. “You insane, beautiful fool,” he choked out against my hair. “You fought a gunman for him.”
