Chapter 6 - BREACHED
The calm inside the study shattered in a single microsecond.
Dante moved with terrifying, predatory speed. Before I could even draw a breath, he had vaulted across the desk, swept Leo out of my arms, and shoved both of us violently behind a heavy steel-reinforced bookcase.
"Stay down!" Dante roared, drawing a heavy, custom-engraved firearm from a concealed holster beneath his suit jacket.
"What's happening?" I screamed, clutching my head as the sound of shattering glass echoed from the foyer downstairs, followed by frantic shouts and the brutal rat-a-tat of automatic gunfire.
"We've been compromised," Dante snarled, his eyes locked on the heavy oak door of the study. "They bypassed the perimeter sensors. Someone gave them the override codes."
The traitor. The thought slammed into my brain with blinding clarity. Someone inside this fortress had just invited death right through the front door.
Heavy boots pounded down the hallway outside. The handle of the study door rattled violently, and then a hail of bullets tore straight through the wood, chewing the mahogany to splinters and showering us with deadly wood shrapnel.
Dante didn't hesitate. He leaned around the edge of the bookcase and fired three rapid, deafening shots through the door. A muffled cry echoed from the hallway, followed by the heavy thud of a body hitting the floor.
"Alina, listen to me," Dante said, crouching low beside me. He thrust a smaller, lightweight firearm into my trembling hand, wrapping my fingers around the grip. "Can you shoot?"
"Are you insane? I'm a waitress!" I gasped, staring at the cold metal weapon like it was a venomous snake.
"You're Elena's blood," Dante said fiercely, his dark eyes burning straight into mine with an intensity that paralyzed my fear. "And right now, they aren't here to capture you—they're here to erase any loose ends. If I go down, you and my son do not hesitate. You take the secret tunnel behind this bookcase and you run toward the cliffs. Do you understand me?"
The door burst open in a cloud of smoke and splintered wood. Two men in tactical black gear, their faces hidden behind reinforced balaclavas, charged into the study with assault rifles raised.
Dante moved like a phantom. He lunged from cover, driving his shoulder into the lead intruder's chest and sending him crashing through a display case of antique artifacts. The second gunman pivoted toward us, his rifle barrel leveling straight at my face where I crouched with Leo in my arms.
Pure, primal adrenaline overrode my terror. Remembering Dante's words, I gripped the handgun with both hands, closed my eyes, and pulled the trigger.
Bang.
The deafening roar echoed inside the enclosed room. The gunman staggered backward, clutching his shoulder with a sharp curse, his weapon clattering uselessly to the hardwood floor.
Before he could recover, Dante was on him, bringing the butt of his gun down hard across the man's temple. The intruder collapsed like a broken doll, unconscious.
The room fell abruptly, terrifyingly silent, save for the ragged breathing of the three of us and Aurelia's soft, frightened whimpers in my arms.
Dante stood over the fallen men, his chest heaving, blood dripping from a shallow graze on his forearm. He slowly turned his head to look at me, a profound, stunned awe replacing the icy ruthlessness in his eyes.
"You actually pulled the trigger," he breathed, walking slowly over to me and kneeling down. He gently pried the smoking gun from my trembling fingers, tossing it aside. "Are you hurt?"
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"No," I whispered, tears finally breaking free and tracking hot paths down my cheeks. "I... I think I'm okay."
Dante reached out, his large, calloused hand cupping the back of my head, pulling me gently against his shoulder while Leo clung frantically to us both. For the first time since I had stepped into Aurelia restaurant three nights ago, the armor of the mafia boss completely vanished, leaving only a man holding the two most important people in his shattered world.
