Chapter 6 - The Unholy Alliance
Ten minutes later, the safe room door hissed open.
Adrian stood in the doorway. His white shirt was soaked in blood—mostly not his own—and his face was pale, his eyes burning with a dark, terrifying intensity. In his hand, he held a fresh magazine for his pistol, slapping it into place with a crisp click.
He looked at me, then down at Emma, who was quietly sleeping against my chest, exhausted from the ordeal.
"Is she safe?" he asked, his voice low and ragged.
"She's stable, but the digitalis is still in her system," I said, standing up. My hands were steady now, forged in the heat of sheer survival. "She needs an antidote—Digibind—and she needs it within the next two hours. Mercy General or a high-level private clinic will have it in stock."
"Then we go," Adrian said, turning toward the hallway.
"Wait!" I caught his arm. The muscle beneath his blood-soaked sleeve was hard as iron. "Did you hear what Dante said? Vance... Vance is at the Evanston clinic right now. He isn't saving my sister. He's using a black-market organ for Falcone's son, and he's going to let Lucia die tonight to cover his tracks!"
Adrian turned back, looking into my eyes. For the first time, I saw something shift in his expression—the ruthless mafia Don was looking at a woman who had fought like a lioness for his child, despite having every reason to hate him.
"What is your sister's full name?" Adrian asked quietly.
"Lucia Lin. She's nineteen. She's at Mercy General, Intensive Care Unit, Bed 4."
Adrian pulled out his satellite phone, dialed a three-digit speed code, and put it to his ear.
"Marco," Adrian commanded into the phone. "Take twelve men and secure ICU Bed 4 at Mercy General right now. Move Lucia Lin to my personal transport helicopter on the roof. If anyone in a doctor’s coat or a police uniform tries to stop you, put a bullet in their leg. Understand?"
He listened for a second, then added, "And call Dr. Chen. Tell him to get his surgical team ready at our private medical facility in Oakbrook. He’s performing a heart transplant tonight."
My heart did a violent flip in my chest. "What? How? Where is he getting a donor heart?"
Adrian lowered the phone and looked at me with a cold, terrifying smile. "Don Falcone paid three million dollars to steal a donor heart meant for the regional pool, using Vance as his butcher. We are going to Evanston, Maya. We are going to take that heart from Falcone’s clinic, we are going to get Emma her antidote, and then Dr. Vance is going to pay his debt in blood."
"You can't just raid a private medical facility!" I gasped. "Falcone’s men will be guarding it!"
"Good," Adrian growled, pulling a black tactical jacket over his bloody shirt. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to hunt them down individually."
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He reached out, his long fingers gently touching Emma’s cheek. His eyes softened for a fraction of a second before hardening into polished steel.
"You saved my daughter's life twice today, Maya," Adrian said, his voice dropping into a solemn vow. "In my world, a life debt is paid with absolute loyalty. Your sister gets that heart tonight, or Chicago burns to the ground. Now get in the car."
