Chapter 8 - THE SIEGE OF MAPLE STREET
Luca froze.
In a fraction of a second, all grief and sentimentality vanished from his face, replaced by the razor-sharp instincts of a syndicate boss in a combat zone.
He drew a heavy-caliber 9mm pistol from his shoulder holster with fluid, silent grace, flicking off the safety.
"Stay behind me," Luca ordered in a low, lethal whisper, pushing Emily and me back against the stone foundation of the basement wall.
Upstairs, heavy footsteps pounded across the hardwood floor of the kitchen.
*Thud. Thud. Thud.*
"Clear the perimeter!" a gruff voice echoed from above. "If she’s here, the books are here. Move, move, move!"
They weren't real estate inspectors. They were mercenaries—hitmen sent by Vanessa and whatever remnant of the old cartel she had managed to rally.
Luca didn't hesitate. He motioned for me to stay low, stepped silently to the bottom of the basement stairs, and waited in the deep shadows of the stairwell.
The basement door at the top of the stairs creaked open.
A heavy-set man in a black tactical vest stepped onto the top step, holding an automatic rifle pointed downward.
"Boss," the man called out softly over his shoulder. "Checking the—"
*Bang.*
The gunshot echoed in the enclosed basement like a thunderclap.
The man in the tactical vest dropped instantly, tumbling headfirst down the wooden stairs and landing in a heap at Luca’s feet.
Before the echoes could even fade, Luca moved upward with terrifying speed. Two more armed men appeared at the top of the doorway, raising their weapons.
Luca fired twice with clinical, chilling precision. Both men dropped their rifles, clutching their shoulders as they collapsed backward out into the kitchen.
"Get your bags!" Luca roared down the stairs, his voice echoing through the house. "We’re moving, now!"
I grabbed Emily’s hand. She was shaking from head to toe, clutching her swollen belly, tears streaming down her face. "My baby—"
"I’ve got you," I said, my own heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird. "Come on!"
We scrambled up the basement stairs, stepping carefully over the fallen guard, and burst into the kitchen. The back door hung wide open, letting in a swirl of freezing snow.
Outside, two more black SUVs had blocked our convoy in the driveway. Three armed men in tactical gear were crouching behind the snowbanks, weapons raised toward the house.
Luca stepped out onto the porch, firing three rapid shots that forced the men to dive behind their vehicle for cover.
"Claire, get her into the lead SUV!" Luca ordered, tossing the key fob across the snowy yard. "Drive through the snowbank if you have to!"
"Dad, come with us!" Emily screamed over the howling wind.
"I’ll be right behind you!" Luca shouted, ducking as a volley of submachine gun fire chewed up the wooden siding of the porch.
I hauled Emily across the freezing yard, pulling open the door of the armored SUV and shoving her safely into the back seat before sliding behind the steering wheel. My hands trembled as I jammed the key into the ignition. The engine roared to life, coughing twice before catching.
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I threw the gear into four-wheel drive, slammed my foot down on the gas pedal, and plowed straight through a wooden fence to escape the driveway as the night exploded into gunfire behind us.
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