Chapter 24 - The Standoff in the Study
“Don't move a muscle!” the intruder barked, his voice muffled by a black tactical balaclava.
Marcus instinctively pivoted to fire, but the intruder moved with terrifying speed, squeezing off a burst that clipped the edge of the mahogany desk and sent splintered wood flying into the air.
“Drop the weapon, old man, or I ventilate her right now!” the gunman ordered, stepping closer while keeping his weapon trained on my chest.
I kept my breathing steady, my fingers gripping the concealed Beretta in my hand beneath the edge of the desk. I didn't flinch. I looked straight into the dark mesh of the gunman’s mask.
“Salvatore sent you,” I stated calmly, my voice steady despite the adrenaline roaring in my ears.
“The boss sends his regards,” the intruder sneered, tightening his grip on the trigger. “And he wants those encryption keys wiped from your hard drive before he skins you alive.”
“You’re a long way from Sicily,” a cold, deadly voice echoed from the shattered window behind him.
The gunman froze.
Dominic Moretti stepped over the broken glass sill as effortlessly as a ghost entering a room. He wasn't wearing his suit jacket; his white dress shirt was open at the collar, and his hands were completely empty—yet the sheer, terrifying aura of lethal intent radiating from him made the intruder instantly pivot around.
“You’re... you’re supposed to be in Manhattan,” the gunman stammered, his weapon trembling slightly as he tried to aim at Dominic.
“My security detail called me the second your boots touched my property,” Dominic said smoothly, walking forward into the dim blue light of the computer screen. His dark eyes were dead, devoid of any mercy. “You thought because I left the front gate open that I wouldn't be waiting in the shadows?”
The gunman panicked, shifting his barrel back toward Dominic to fire.
It was a fatal mistake.
With blinding speed, I drew the Beretta from beneath the desk and fired a single, clean shot that caught the intruder squarely in his weapon-bearing shoulder.
Bang!
The gunman screamed, dropping his submachine gun as it clattered uselessly onto the hardwood floor.
Before he could hit the ground, Dominic closed the distance between them with terrifying speed, grabbing the man by the throat and slamming him violently against the bookshelf. The heavy oak shelves rattled, and books rained down around them as Dominic pinned the assassin with one hand, his fingers tightening like a vise.
“Tell Salvatore Rossi his game is over,” Dominic whispered, his voice dropping an octave into a terrifying, guttural growl. “Tell him if another one of his vipers crosses my property line, I won't just freeze his accounts—I’ll burn his entire estate to ash and scatter his bones in the Mediterranean.”
The gunman choked, nodding frantically before Dominic struck him across the temple with the heavy butt of a secondary pistol, sending him crashing unconscious onto the floor.
Marcus lowered his weapon, letting out a long, shaky breath. “Well handled, boss.”
Dominic didn't celebrate. He turned instantly toward me, dropping his weapon and crossing the room in two long strides. He pulled me into his arms so fiercely I could feel the wild, frantic hammering of his heart against my ribs.
“Are you hurt?” he whispered, his voice trembling for the first time all night. “Clara... are you okay?”
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“I’m fine,” I murmured, burying my face in his chest, breathing in the scent of cedarwood, rain, and safety. “Lily is safe in the panic room. Everyone is safe.”
Dominic kissed the top of my head, holding me tighter than ever before. The threat from Sicily had tried to pierce our sanctuary, but it had only proved what we already knew: nothing could break the fortress we had built together.
