Chapter 5 - THE BEAST’S WRATHThe bedroom door clicked open, and a sliver of hallway light cut across the dark floor.
A man in a tactical black turtleneck slipped inside, a suppressed pistol raised and sweeping the room with deadly efficiency. His eyes adjusted to the dim light, locking onto the bed. Empty.
He took two silent steps forward before a massive wall of gray fur erupted from the shadows to his right.
Before the intruder could even draw a breath, Titan hit him like a freight train. A sickening crunch of bone echoed as the 150-pound mastiff slammed the gunman into the drywall, sending the suppressed pistol clattering across the floor.
"Aghh!" the intruder choked out as Titan’s massive jaws clamped down on his tactical vest, pinning him to the floor with enough weight to crack his ribs.
From the hallway came a sharp curse. A second intruder rushed into the doorway, raising a knife to stab the dog from behind.
"Stop!" Willa screamed, lunging forward.
Acting on pure adrenaline, she grabbed the heavy brass lamp from the bedside table and swung it with all her might, smashing it squarely across the second intruder's temple. The man staggered backward, dazed and bleeding, dropping his knife before collapsing in a heap onto the carpet.
Down the hallway, heavy, rushing footsteps suddenly echoed—not of enemies, but of heavily armed security guards led by Kendrick Ashford himself.
Kendrick burst into the room, a submachine gun in hand, his eyes scanning the carnage in a fraction of a second. Two intruders pinned and unconscious, Titan standing guard over them, and Willa standing barefoot in the center of the room, clutching a broken lamp, her chest heaving, her knuckles white.
Kendrick’s gaze slowly moved from the fallen assassins to Willa. Not a single trace of panic showed on his face—only a cold, terrifying fury.
"Sweep the entire perimeter," Kendrick commanded without taking his eyes off Willa. Three guards rushed past him into the hallway.
Kendrick lowered his weapon and walked slowly toward Willa. He stopped just a foot away, looking down at her trembling hands and the fierce, defiant glint in her eyes.
"You hit him with a lamp," Kendrick said, a ghost of a smirk touching the corner of his lips.
"He was going to kill your dog," Willa shot back, her voice shaking but steady. "And probably me too. What was I supposed to do, offer him tea?"
Kendrick let out a low, dark chuckle. He reached out, gently taking the broken lamp base from her fingers and setting it aside.
"Barrett Hayes sends his regards, I assume?" Kendrick asked quietly.
"I don't know who sent them," Willa said, her jaw tightening. "But if you think I'm going to sit here and wait to be murdered while you play mafia games, you're out of your mind. Let me leave."
May you like
Kendrick stepped closer, trapping her gently between his body and the edge of the bed. His gray eyes burned into hers with an intensity that made her skin tingle.
"Leave?" Kendrick whispered, his voice dangerously close to her ear. "Willa, the moment Barrett’s men set foot in this building, you stopped being a waitress. And you stopped being safe anywhere outside these walls. You belong to the storm now."
