Chapter 8 - The Siege of Oheka Pines
Footsteps pounded up the stairs behind her.
"Grab her!" Julian screamed from below. "Don't let her reach the main hall!"
Penelope burst through the cellar door, slamming it shut and sliding the heavy iron bolt into place just as a heavy body slammed against the wood from the other side.
"Open the door, you fat bitch!" Julian roared, rattling the iron handle frantically.
Penelope sprinted toward the main security station in the west hallway, but as she rounded the corner, she found two unfamiliar men in rain-soaked tactical gear standing over Marco. The security chief was unconscious on the marble floor, blood trickling from a wound on his forehead.
Julian’s hired mercenaries had breached the estate.
Penelope turned on her heel and ran toward the main staircase leading to Salvatore’s study. She had to protect the old man.
"Salvatore!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, her voice echoing through the vaulted halls over the sound of thunder. "Don Salvatore! Lock the door!"
She burst into Salvatore’s study just as the old man was standing up from his armchair, looking confused.
"Penelope? What is this noise?"
Penelope shoved the heavy oak doors shut, sliding the brass security bar into place. She grabbed Salvatore’s arm, her breathing ragged. "Julian... Julian hired men. They are trying to poison you, Don Salvatore! They have men in the house!"
Salvatore’s face went completely pale. The shock of his youngest son’s ultimate betrayal struck him like a physical blow. He staggered back, clutching his chest.
"Julian... my boy..." Salvatore choked out.
"Stay down!" Penelope commanded, guiding the old man behind a massive mahogany desk.
Outside the study, heavy footsteps approached. A man’s shoulder slammed against the oak door, making the heavy wood creak under the strain.
"Open up, old man!" Leo Vance’s voice shouted through the wood. "Make this easy on yourself!"
Penelope looked around the room frantically for a weapon. She picked up a heavy, solid bronze statue of a Roman chariot sitting on a side table. She stood beside the double doors, holding the bronze statue high above her head with both hands, her full frame tense, her brown eyes flashing with pure, feral rage.
Nobody was going to touch this old man. Not while she was breathing.
CRACK!
The lock on the oak doors gave way under a shotgun blast. The doors burst open, and a mercenary stepped into the room, raising a sidearm.
Penelope didn't hesitate. She swung the heavy bronze statue with all the power in her hips and shoulders, striking the mercenary flush across the side of his helmet.
The man let out a grunt and collapsed like a sack of stones.
Before the second man could step through the threshold, a volley of suppressed gunfire erupted from the hallway behind him. The mercenary fell forward onto the carpet.
Standing in the doorway, drenched in rain, his eyes wild with a lethal, terrifying rage, was Dominic Moretti.
In his right hand, he held a black tactical pistol, smoke curling from the barrel. Behind him stood six of his loyal estate guards, weapons drawn.
Dominic’s eyes swept the room, taking in the fallen mercenary, his shaken father behind the desk, and Penelope—standing tall, her dark hair wild, holding a blood-stained bronze statue like an ancient warrior queen.
"Penelope," Dominic gasped out, dropping his weapon to his side and rushing across the room.
May you like
He grabbed her, pulling her soft, trembling body into his chest with crushing force. He buried his face in her neck, breathing in the scent of her skin, his entire broad frame shaking with relief.
"I've got you," Dominic whispered hoarsely. "I'm here. I've got you."
