Chapter 7 - A War on Two Fronts
Saturday night brought a storm darker than the one that had carried me away from my family’s estate.
Dante and I were working late in the glass citadel, finalizing the presentation files that would destroy Lucille and Raymond at the Summit, when sudden red emergency lights flashed across the walls. A sharp siren pierced the quiet.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
The sound of distant automatic gunfire erupted near the estate’s outer perimeter gates.
“Stay here!” Dante commanded instantly, reaching into his desk drawer and pulling out a matte-black Sig Sauer pistol.
“Dante, wait!” I shouted, standing up.
Before he could reach the door, the glass wall of the courtyard shattered inward in a shower of deadly shards. Three masked men clad in tactical gear burst through the glass, automatic weapons raised.
Dante moved with terrifying speed. He shoved me behind the heavy oak desk, fired three rapid shots, and dropped the lead attacker instantly.
The remaining two attackers opened fire, tearing the room apart. Bookshelves exploded, glass shattered, and plaster rained down around us. Dante ducked behind the marble pillar, returning fire with lethal precision, but he was pinned down. One of the gunmen began flanking his left side, raising his rifle toward Dante’s exposed position.
Without thinking, I grabbed a heavy brass sculpture from the desk, jumped up, and hurled it with all my strength at the flanking gunman. It caught him square in the temple. He stumbled back, disoriented.
That split second was all Dante needed.
Dante pivoted, firing two rounds into the gunman’s chest, then turned his gun on the third attacker, killing him instantly.
Silence fell over the destroyed office, broken only by the sound of the rain pouring through the shattered glass and our heavy breathing.
Dante immediately turned to me, dropping his gun onto the desk and rushing to my side. He took my face in his large, warm hands, his eyes wild with frantic concern, checking me for injuries.
“Are you hurt? Elena, talk to me! Did they hit you?” he demanded, his voice raw with an emotion I had never heard from the ruthless crime boss before: terror. Pure, unadulterated terror for my safety.
“I’m fine,” I gasped, clutching his wrists. “I’m okay, Dante.”
He pulled me into his chest, wrapping his powerful arms around me so tightly I could hear his racing heartbeat. I buried my face in his neck, breathing in his scent, feeling a sudden, profound realization hit me.
This man—whom society called a monster, whom my family used as a dumping ground for their 'defective' daughter—had just put his body between me and a hail of bullets. He didn't see me as a contract or a chess piece. He loved me.
Dante pulled back slightly, staring deep into my eyes. “Raymond sent them. He knew we were closing in.”
“He’s desperate,” I said, my hand moving up to cup his cheek, feeling the warm rough stubble under my palm. “Which means he’s made his final mistake.”
Dante looked at my lips, then back up to my eyes. “I swore I wouldn't touch you until this war was over... but I almost lost you tonight, Elena.”
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“Then don't wait,” I whispered.
Dante leaned down and captured my mouth with a fierce, passionate kiss that wiped away every memory of betrayal, coldness, and grief I had ever known. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer as the storm raged outside. In the middle of shattered glass and lingering gunsmoke, we belonged entirely to each other.
