Chapter 5 - The Siege of Pine Ridge
"Get down!" Lorenzo roared, tackling Harper and Emma to the hardwood floor as glass and wood splinters rained over them.
Nero stood over Emma, his giant body acting as a living shield, barking savagely toward the shattered entrance. Tactical lights cut through the darkness of the cabin, illuminating smoke and dust.
"Lorenzo Moretti!" Tyrell’s voice boomed through a megaphone from the tree line outside. "Give up the girl and the drive, and I might let you take a bullet instead of burning you alive! You're surrounded by thirty men! No federal marshals tonight, Lorenzo—just me and Marcone's boys!"
Lorenzo pulled two tactical pistols from a hidden compartment under the dining table, tossing a small 9mm to Harper. "Do you know how to use this?"
Harper took the gun, her hands shaking, but her eyes hardening. "Tyrell taught me. He wanted me to be afraid of it. I'm not afraid anymore."
"Good. Keep Emma in the back bathroom. It’s reinforced with iron plates. Do not open that door for anyone except me or Nero," Lorenzo commanded.
Harper grabbed Emma, but the little girl resisted, pulling back toward Nero. The giant dog looked down at the child, licked her forehead once with a massive, rough tongue, and then turned toward the front door, his posture lethal. Emma let out a tiny, gasping sob—the first vocal sound she had made in almost a year—and allowed Harper to drag her into the reinforced bathroom, locking the heavy deadbolt.
Outside the bathroom door, hell broke loose.
The sound of automatic gunfire roared through the cabin. Lorenzo moved with the terrifying speed of a seasoned strategist, firing through the walls, taking down attackers as they tried to breach the windows.
Through the crack beneath the door, Harper saw flashbangs detonate and shadows falling. Then she heard the iconic, terrifying roar of Nero charging. Screams of pain echoed through the living room as the two-hundred-pound mastiff tore into the attackers, his immense bite force breaking armor and bone alike.
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Then, a heavy thud hit the bathroom door.
"Harper!" Tyrell’s voice called out from the other side, dripping with sickening intimacy. "Open the door, baby. It’s over. Your mafia hero is bleeding out on the floor. Come home. Let’s stop playing hide and seek."
