Chapter 7 - Blood and Loyalty
Red emergency lights strobed across the high ceilings of the manor. The piercing wail of the intrusion siren rattled the windowpanes.
“Perimeter breach at the north gate!” Daniel’s voice crackled through the comm unit pinned to Luca’s collar. “Two black SUVs rammed the security barrier! Armed men advancing toward the west portico!”
Luca’s demeanor flipped in an instant from tender protector to lethal commander. He pulled a heavy semi-automatic handgun from his shoulder holster, chambering a round with a sharp, mechanical clack.
“Daniel! Move the strike team to the courtyard. Nobody gets within fifty yards of the main entrance,” Luca ordered into his radio.
He grabbed my hand, his grip tight and warm, pulling me down the corridor toward the east wing. “Where is Lily?”
“With Evelyn! In the conservatory bedroom!” I panted, my heart hammering like a trapped bird in my ribs.
We burst into the room. Evelyn was already sitting upright, her good hand clutching Lily against her side. Lily was pale, her little hands clamped over her ears to block out the shrieking alarm.
“Mommy!” Lily cried, leaping off the bed and running into my arms. I scooped her up, burying her face into my neck.
Luca stepped toward the ornate mahogany bookshelf against the far wall. He pulled a false leather-bound volume; with a heavy hydraulic hiss, a five-ton reinforced steel panic door swung open from behind the wood paneling.
“Inside. Now,” Luca said.
“Luca, what about you?” Evelyn asked, her voice steady despite the chaos. “Antonio left you men to fight, not to die on your own doorstep.”
“They came to my house, Mom,” Luca replied, his jaw set like granite. “They came for Sarah and Lily. Nobody leaves this property alive.”
He turned to me. The panic room was stocked with medical supplies, oxygen tanks, and private monitors showing every security camera on the grounds.
“Go inside, Sarah. Seal the door from the control panel. Do not open it for anyone except me or Daniel.”
“Luca, wait—”
Before I could stop myself, I reached out, grabbing the lapel of his shirt and pulling him down to me. I pressed my lips fiercely against his. It was desperate, unpolished, and full of all the terror and love bursting inside my chest.
Luca froze for half a second before his arm wrapped around my waist, lifting me against him as he kissed me back with a hunger that made the ground disappear.
When he pulled away, his dark eyes were blazing with an unstoppable fire.
“Seal the door,” he whispered.
I stepped inside with Lily and Evelyn. The heavy steel door slid shut, locking with three deep, pneumatic thuds.
On the security monitors, I watched the nightmare unfold.
A dozen men in tactical gear swarmed into the courtyard, weapons firing. Glass shattered in the lower gallery. But Luca’s men were not mere bodyguards; they were seasoned soldiers. Daniel Ramos directed crossfire from the upper balconies, pinning the intruders between the marble fountain and the stone balustrade.
Then Luca entered the frame.
He moved with terrifying, lethal grace. Every shot he took was calculated, precise, and unforgiving. He moved through the smoke and shattered glass like a phantom, cutting down the strike team leader before advancing on the remaining mercenaries.
Within four minutes, the courtyard was silent.
The snow was stained crimson. Nine attackers lay motionless in the drifts. The remaining three were on their knees, hands zip-tied behind their backs by Daniel’s men.
Then I saw Luca stumble.
My breath caught in my throat. On the monitor, Luca leaned heavily against a stone pillar, his left hand pressing against his side. Dark, slick blood was already soaking through his white shirt, dripping onto the snow.
“Luca!” I screamed, hitting the release panel on the panic door before Evelyn could stop me.
“Sarah, wait!” Evelyn called out, but I was already running.
I sprinted down the marble hallway, through the shattered glass of the gallery, and burst out into the freezing winter air.
Luca was leaning against the pillar, his breathing shallow, his face pale against the snow. Daniel was shouting for the estate doctor, but the moment Luca saw me running toward him in my stocking feet, his eyes widened with panic.
“Sarah… get back inside… it’s not safe—”
I didn't care about safe. I threw my arms around him, catching his weight as his knees buckled. We sank together onto the snow-covered steps.
“You’re shot,” I sobbed, tearing the hem of my dress with frantic fingers and pressing the fabric hard against the wound on his lower abdomen. “You’re bleeding, Luca! Look at me!”
Luca winced in pain, his hand coming up to cup my cheek, his fingers staining my skin with his own blood. But he wasn't looking at his wound. He was looking at my eyes, a faint, breathless smile touching his lips.
“You came out for me,” he whispered, his voice rough.
“Of course I came for you!” I cried, pressing down harder on the wound as tears dripped onto his chest. “Don't you dare close your eyes, Luca Moretti! Lily needs her surgery on Monday, and I… I can’t live without you! Do you hear me? You don’t get to leave us!”
Luca let out a weak, raspy laugh that ended in a cough. His fingers tangled into my hair, pulling me down until his forehead rested against mine.
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“Then I’m not going anywhere, Sarah,” he promised, his voice fierce even as his vision blurred. “I’m staying right here.”
***
