Chapter 7 - THE FINAL STAND AT GALLAGHER MANORCLICK-CLACK!
Heavy steel security shutters slammed down from the ceiling, instantly cutting the room in half and trapping three of Brendan’s mercenaries on the outside, while isolating Brendan and two men inside the master bedroom with Ronan and Tessa.
The sudden bang of the iron shutters threw the guards into brief panic.
Ronan didn't hesitate. He dropped low, firing three rapid shots through the chest of the guard on the left.
Tessa grabbed a heavy brass floor lamp—the very symbol of her four years of silent service—and swung it with all her strength into the knees of the second guard. The man buckled with a scream, and Ronan finished him with a single shot to the head.
Brendan cursed, diving behind the leather couch and firing wildly.
"You think a trap door saves you, Gallagher?!" Brendan screamed over the sound of gunfire. "My men will blow those iron shutters down in sixty seconds!"
"Sixty seconds is fifty seconds too long!" Ronan roared.
Ronan vaulted over the bed, tackling Brendan across the mahogany coffee table. The two men crashed onto the hardwood floor in a violent, brutal struggle. Brendan slammed his elbow into Ronan’s wounded shoulder, forcing Ronan to drop his weapon.
Brendan gained the upper hand, pinning Ronan down and wrapping both hands around Ronan’s throat, pressing his thumb hard into Ronan’s windpipe.
"You're weak, Ronan!" Brendan snarled, his face turning red with exertion. "You died the day you let a maid soften your heart!"
Ronan choked for air, his vision turning black at the edges as Brendan squeezed harder. He reached blindly for any weapon on the floor, but found nothing.
Suddenly, a heavy, solid sound echoed through the room.
CRACK!
Brendan’s eyes went wide. His grip loosened instantly. A stream of thick blood leaked down his forehead as he slowly turned his head to look behind him.
Tessa stood over him, holding the heavy, iron-bound leather Bible from her room—the heavy spine dripping with blood.
"He isn't weak," Tessa said, her timid voice now cold, sharp, and unbreakable. "And I'm not just a maid."
Brendan collapsed sideways onto the floor, unconscious and bleeding profusely.
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Ronan gasped for air, coughing violently as he sat up. He looked at Tessa, who dropped the heavy book, her hands shaking as she stared at the fallen traitor.
Without a word, Ronan pulled her down into his arms, holding her tightly against his chest as the sound of sirens blared in the distance—the real police forces and loyal Gallagher enforcers arriving to secure the estate.
