Chapter 7 - The Breach
The attack didn't happen at the gala. It happened on the highway.
As Damian’s armored SUV sped back toward Long Island, three black Escalades swarmed them. The horrific sound of automatic gunfire shattered the quiet night. The armored glass of their SUV spider-webbed under the impact of the bullets.
"Get down!" Damian roared, pulling a heavy glock from his shoulder holster.
Nora didn't hesitate. She threw herself over Sofia, pressing the screaming child into the floorboards of the SUV, covering Sofia’s body entirely with her own.
The driver swerved violently as one of the enemy cars rammed them. The SUV spun out, crashing through a guardrail and slamming into a concrete embankment.
Smoke filled the cabin. The driver was unconscious. Marcus, in the front passenger seat, was firing out the window.
"Nora! Take her and run for the tree line!" Damian yelled, kicking his jammed door open.
Nora grabbed Sofia, her own head spinning, blood trickling from a cut above her eyebrow. She scrambled out of the wreckage, dragging the child into the dark woods bordering the highway. She could hear the shouts of Moretti's men closing in.
She found a hollowed-out ditch beneath a massive oak tree and pushed Sofia inside, curling her body tightly around the girl.
"Quiet, sweetie, shh," Nora chanted, covering Sofia's mouth as heavy boots crunched through the leaves nearby.
"Find the girl!" a voice barked. "Kill the nanny!"
A flashlight beam swept over the brush. Nora closed her eyes, preparing to die. She braced herself for the gunshot.
Instead, she heard a sickening crunch of bone, followed by a choked gurgle.
Nora peeked through the brush. Damian was a demon in the dark. He had dropped his gun and used a hunting knife to silently, brutally dismantle the two men who had gotten too close to his family. He was covered in blood that wasn't his, his chest heaving, his eyes wild as he searched the darkness.
"Nora!" he shouted, raw panic in his voice.
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"Here!" she sobbed, crawling out of the ditch with Sofia.
Damian dropped to his knees, pulling them both into his chest, burying his face in Nora’s neck. "I've got you. You're safe. I swear to God, you're safe."
