Chapter 7 - The Siege of Brookline
The lights throughout Marchetti Manor abruptly went dark as the main power grid was killed. Emergency red back-up lights flickered to life along the baseboards, casting long, sinister shadows across the grand hallways.
"Gideon, stay down!" Paxton ordered, pulling two extra magazines from his jacket and tossing one to his trusted lieutenant.
Outside the conservatory doors, heavy footsteps echoed on the polished marble. Gunfire erupted in the main foyer as Paxton’s loyal house guards traded shots with the invading strike team.
"Paxton!" Corsica called out, her voice urgent as she gathered Ros and Letty behind her, her arms wrapped tightly around both frightened girls. "Where are they coming from?"
"The service entrance near the kitchen!" Paxton called back, his eyes darting across the dark hall. "There's a reinforced safe room behind the study library! I need you to take the girls there right now!"
"I don't know the layout!" Corsica said, her hands trembling as she held the crying children.
"I’ll guide you!" Paxton ran to her side, grabbing her hand and pulling her toward the concealed hallway behind the conservatory. "Ros, hold your sister’s hand! Follow my voice!"
Suddenly, the glass windows of the conservatory shattered inward in a shower of deadly shards. Three men dressed in tactical black gear leaped through the frame, heavy submachine guns raised.
Nero launched himself into the air before the first intruder could raise his barrel.
The 140-pound mastiff hit the lead shooter like a freight train, his jaws locking onto the attacker’s arm with bone-crushing force. The man screamed in agony as he was slammed hard against the marble floor.
BANG! BANG!
Paxton raised his custom 1911 pistol and double-tapped the second intruder in the chest before the man could clear his weapon. The third attacker turned his gun toward Corsica, but Paxton tackled him mid-stride, driving his elbow viciously into the man’s throat, knocking him unconscious instantly.
"Nero! Heel!" Corsica commanded over the ringing in her ears.
The mastiff released the bleeding intruder and sprinted back to Corsica’s side, his black coat spattered with blood, his chest heaving with adrenaline.
"In here! Move!" Paxton pushed open the heavy oak door of his private study, moving to the massive bookshelf on the far wall. He reached behind a leather-bound encyclopedia set and pulled a hidden mechanical lever.
The bookshelf swung forward with a heavy hydraulic hiss, revealing a thick steel door equipped with a digital biometric keypad.
"Ros, Letty, get inside!" Paxton ordered, shoving his terrified daughters into the brightly lit, steel-reinforced bunker. He turned to Corsica, grabbing her shoulders firmly. "You too! Go!"
Corsica stopped at the threshold, holding the doorframe. "What about you?"
"I have to end this," Paxton said, his eyes burning with an ancient, deadly fury. "Victor Vance and Dominic Brennan are out there. If I don't kill them tonight, they will hunt us forever."
"Paxton, no!" Corsica cried out, reaching up to touch his rain-slicked face. "Don't leave us!"
Paxton leaned down, pressing a fierce, hard, and desperate kiss directly against her lips. Corsica gasped, her hands gripping his jacket, kissing him back with a raw, consuming passion that shook both of them to their core.
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"I’m coming back to you," Paxton swore against her lips, his breath hot against her face. "I promise you on my life. Lock the door!"
He slammed the steel door shut from the outside. The heavy electronic locks engaged with three loud, mechanical thuds, sealing Corsica, the children, and Nero safely inside the vault.
