Chapter 4 - The Safe Haven
The concrete floor exploded with ricochets as I dashed behind a massive load-bearing column, shielding Daisy with my entire torso. Concrete dust settled on my hair and jacket, but Daisy didn't make a sound—she was pressed flat against my chest, her tiny fingers clutching the golden teddy bear pin so hard her knuckles turned white.
""Marco! Suppressive fire on the SUV!"" I commanded, leaning around the pillar to squeeze off three rapid shots that took down another approaching mercenary.
Marco’s team advanced with terrifying discipline, their heavy gunfire pinning Marcus’s surviving men against the back wall of the loading bay. Sensing the tide turning, Marcus scrambled into the driver’s seat of a secondary, unarmored sedan, slamming the door shut. The engine roared to life with a violent shriek.
""He's running!"" Marco shouted.
Marcus floored the accelerator, the car careening sideways as he smashed through the security barrier at the maintenance exit, rubber burning against the slick floor. He broke through the lower garage gates and disappeared into the rainy Chicago night.
""Let him run,"" I said coldly, stepping out from behind the pillar as the last mercenary fell silent. ""He has nowhere to hide. Marco, secure the perimeter and get our medics down here immediately.""
""Understood, Boss.""
I turned toward the parked sedan across the aisle. From beneath the chassis, a trembling figure slowly emerged. Emily rose to her feet, covered in grease and dust, clutching her bruised ribs.
For a long moment, time seemed to freeze. Five years of agony, five years of guilt and sleepless nights, collapsed into that single heartbeat.
""Emily,"" my voice cracked, stripped of all authority, leaving only the boy who had lost his older sister.
Emily looked up, her dark eyes brimming with tears. She didn't look at the dead men or the bullet holes riddle-marking the walls. She looked straight at me, then at the little girl nestled safely in my arms.
""Dom..."" she sobbed, stumbling forward.
Daisy gasped. ""MOMMY!""
I met Emily halfway, catching her as her legs gave out. I wrapped my long arms around both of them, pulling them tight against my chest. Daisy immediately wrapped her arms around Emily’s neck, showering her mother’s bruised cheeks with messy, wet kisses.
""I told you!"" Daisy beamed proudly through her tears. ""I told you Mister Teddy would clappy-clap and save us! He’s the biggest bear in the whole world!""
Emily buried her face in my shoulder, her body wracked with uncontrollable sobs. ""You found her... oh god, Dom, you kept her safe. I was so terrified she wouldn't reach you in time.""
""She owned the entire room, Em,"" I whispered, kissing the top of my sister’s head, my own eyes burning with unshed tears. ""She took over my stage and brought an entire cartel to its knees. She's definitely a Romano.""
Emily let out a wet, breathless laugh against my suit. But the relief was short-lived.
""Dom, Marcus wasn't working alone,"" Emily whispered, pulling back slightly, her expression hardening with dread. ""He made a deal with the Petrov syndicate. They’ve been funding his private militia. If Marcus reaches their safe house in the docks, they have enough firepower to stage a full-scale assault on our family compound.""
I tightened my grip on Daisy, my gaze turning toward the shattered exit gate where Marcus had fled.
""Then we don't give him the chance,"" I said, my voice dripping with cold, calculated finality. ""Marco! Ready the armored convoy. We’re taking Emily and Daisy to the Lake Shore penthouse. It’s the most secure fortress in this city.""
Ten minutes later, our convoy swept through the neon-lit, rain-slicked streets of Chicago. Inside the reinforced interior of my private limousine, Daisy finally succumbed to exhaustion. Curled up against my side, her head resting on my thigh, she clutched her pink microphone like a prized trophy, snoring softly.
Emily sat opposite me, wrapped in a warm wool blanket, sipping hot tea. ""I should have trusted you sooner, Dom. When Marcus took me, he said you were the one who wanted me gone so you could inherit the throne alone. For two years, I believed him... until Daisy was born. I knew you would never harm an innocent child. That was when I realized everything out of his mouth was poison.""
""I searched every corner of this country for you, Em,"" I said, reaching across to clasp her hand. ""I tore down half the criminal underworld looking for your grave, never dreaming you were being held sixty miles away in an abandoned quarry mansion.""
""Daisy saved me,"" Emily smiled softly, brushing a stray curl from her daughter's face. ""She found a loose floorboard in the nursery. She crawled through the air duct and unlocked the backdoor latch from the outside. That's how we escaped today. She told me she wanted to go to the party and sing.""
I looked down at the tiny sleeping girl who had completely upended my empire in less than an hour. A fierce, unfamiliar warmth bloomed in my chest—an absolute, unyielding protective instinct that surpassed any business empire or mafia crown.
""No one will ever touch either of you again,"" I swore softly.
Just then, my encrypted phone buzzed. Marco’s voice came over the speaker, tight and urgent. ""Boss. We tracked Marcus’s vehicle. He didn't go to the Petrov docks.""
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""Where is he?""
""He's heading north toward the Lake Shore penthouse. Boss... he knows where you're taking them. He's got fifty Petrov mercenaries surrounding the perimeter right now.""
