Chapter 7 - The O'Connor Retaliation
Before Wren could process the staggering weight of Julian’s confession, the heavy oak door of the hospital suite burst open.
Marcus stumbled inside, his gun drawn, breathing heavily. Blood was smeared across his sleeve, and the distant, muffled sound of gunfire echoed up the stairwell from the lower floors.
"Boss! We've been compromised!" Marcus yelled, slamming the door shut and throwing the heavy deadbolt. "The O'Connors found out you survived the hit last night. They sent a clean-up crew. They've breached the ground floor."
Julian’s hospital demeanor vanished in a fraction of a second. The vulnerable patient disappeared, replaced instantly by the ruthless mafia boss who had ruled the city's underworld for a decade. He ripped the IV tape from his hand, ignoring the sudden spray of blood, and swung his legs over the side of the bed.
"How many?" Julian demanded, grabbing a suppressed 9mm pistol from the holster strapped beneath his hospital gown.
"At least six armed men," Marcus said, checking his magazine. "They bypassed hospital security using forged SWAT credentials. They're heading up the service elevator right now."
Wren stood frozen in the center of the room, panic surging through her veins. "Swat? They're going to kill everyone on this floor!"
"They're here for me," Julian said, his dark eyes locking onto hers with absolute intensity. He looked at Marcus. "Get her out through the maintenance shaft on the roof. Use the chopper pad."
"I'm not leaving you here to bleed to death!" Wren shouted, her nursing instincts overriding her terror. "Your stitches are barely holding! If you move too fast, you'll rupture your internal organs!"
"Wren, listen to me," Julian said, stepping forward, his hand gripping her shoulder with surprising strength despite his pale face. "If they find you here with me, they won't leave witnesses. You survived seven years of hell. You are not dying in a hospital hallway tonight."
Suddenly, a deafening explosion rocked the corridor outside. The heavy oak door splintered inward as a breaching charge blew the hinges off the frame. Smoke and plaster filled the air.
"Get down!" Marcus roared, shoving Wren behind a heavy medical cart as a volley of automatic gunfire chewed through the doorframe.
Julian raised his pistol, firing twice through the smoke with lethal precision. A masked gunman in tactical gear stumbled backward into the hallway, collapsing in a heap.
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"Marcus! The roof, now!" Julian yelled, firing again.
Patch didn't run. The scarred gray shepherd stood planted right in front of Wren, barking fiercely at the smoke-filled doorway, his teeth bared, ready to die defending the two people who mattered most to him in the world.
