Chapter 5 - The Siege of the West Wing
Gunfire erupted on the lower floor—the loud, rhythmic thud of automatic weapons tearing through mahogany doors and crystal chandeliers.
"Get Mara and Emma to the panic room!" Gabriel commanded, his voice roaring over the alarm.
"No!" Mara ran out of the room, grabbing Emma’s hand, pulling her behind her back. "I'm not leaving you!"
Gabriel looked at her, his eyes blazing. "Mara, go! Hector is leading them! He wants the drive back, and he wants you!"
Before Mara could answer, the door at the end of the west corridor blew inward with a deafening crash. Plaster, dust, and splinters showered the hallway.
Through the smoke stepped Hector, his shoulder wrapped in blood-soaked bandages, a submachine gun in his hands, surrounded by four heavily armed mercenaries.
"Found you!" Hector grinned wildly, his bloodshot eyes locking onto Mara. "Don Carmine says hello, Widow!"
"Marco! Cover!" Gabriel roared.
Gabriel threw himself out of his wheelchair onto the floor, pulling his pistol, firing three rapid shots. One mercenary dropped instantly, but the remaining men opened fire, peppering the walls with lead.
Marco returned fire with his rifle, pinning Hector behind a marble pillar, but the smoke was growing thick, and more boots were echoing up the stairs.
"Mommy, I'm scared!" Emma cried, clutching Mara’s waist.
"Hold on to me!" Mara screamed. She looked around frantically. The corridor was cut off. The stairs were blocked.
Behind them was the estate’s grand conservatory—a massive glass dome filled with exotic plants and heavy stone fountains, currently blanketed in snow from a cracked skylight above.
Gabriel crawled toward them, his surgical wounds reopening, blood seeping through his black shirt. He grabbed Mara’s ankle, his face contorted in pain and determination.
"Into... the conservatory," Gabriel grunted. "There’s a reinforced security gate... lock it from the inside..."
"Not without you!" Mara yelled.
She didn't hesitate. Mara dropped to her knees, grabbed Gabriel under his arms, and pulled with every ounce of strength in her body. She was a woman who had spent years carrying heavy laundry bags, lifting furniture, and surviving on grit alone.
"Mara... leave me..." Gabriel gasped.
"Shut up and move!" Mara raged, her muscles screaming as she dragged the two-hundred-pound man backward across the slick marble floor while Marco provided suppressing fire.
They burst into the conservatory. Emma slammed the heavy iron security lever down. The thick, bulletproof steel shutter dropped from the ceiling, sealing the conservatory off from the hallway with a heavy THUD.
Bullets slammed harmlessly against the outer side of the steel door.
Inside, the air was cold, smelling of wet earth and winter rain. Light from the storm outside filtered through the frosted glass dome high above.
Gabriel lay on his back near a stone fountain, his breathing heavy and shallow. Mara dropped beside him, her hands instantly pressing down on the fresh blood soaking his chest.
"You're an idiot," Mara sobbed, tears finally breaking through her fierce mask, hot against her cold cheeks. "You're a stubborn, arrogant idiot!"
Gabriel looked up at her, his vision swimming, but a faint, breathless smile touched his lips. He raised a blood-stained hand and touched her tear-streaked cheek.
"And you..." Gabriel whispered, his thumb softly brushing away a tear, "are the bravest woman... I have ever known, Mara."
Emma ran over, kneeling beside her mother, holding Gabriel’s other hand. "Don't die, King Gabriel. Please."
"I'm not... going anywhere, little driver," Gabriel breathed softly, his dark eyes fixing on Mara’s face. "Not until... I give your mother... everything she deserves."
Outside the steel door, the gunfire began to slow, replaced by the heavy thud of incoming reinforcements. Marco’s main force had finally encircled Hector’s men from behind. The siege was ending.
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Mara pressed her forehead against Gabriel’s, her tears falling onto his chest, mixing with his blood.
She knew then, with absolute, terrifying clarity, that she was no longer just running from her past. She was falling in love with a monster who was willing to bleed out on a marble floor just to keep her child safe.
