Chapter 7 - When the Guns Spoke
""STOP IT!"" Sophie screamed, her tiny voice piercing through the heavy smell of cordite and blood. She stood with her arms spread wide, her little chest heaving with tears, glaring up at the armed woman twice her size. ""YOU DON'T HURT MY MISTER!""
The sheer absurdity of a three-year-old child challenging an armed assassin caused Elena's finger to hesitate on the trigger for one fatal second. A look of utter disgust crossed Elena's face. ""Get out of the way, you filthy little insect.""
Elena raised her boot to kick Sophie aside.
That was the last mistake she ever made.
Alessandro let out an ungodly roar—a sound born not of human strength, but of the primal fury of a beast protecting its young. Ignoring the bullet wounds tearing through his shoulder, he lunged forward from the floor with his good left hand, catching Elena's ankle with an iron grip that shattered bone instantly.
Elena shrieked in agony as she was violently ripped off her feet, her head striking the hard stone floor with a sickening crack. Her weapon flew from her hand, skidding across the wet tiles toward my feet.
The remaining mercenary swung his barrel toward Alessandro, but before he could squeeze the trigger, a thunderous blast tore through the far doorway of the cellar. A twelve-gauge shotgun shell ripped through the mercenary's chest, throwing him violently into an oak wine vat that splintered under his weight, spilling hundreds of gallons of dark red wine across the floor like a river of blood.
Standing in the doorway, bleeding heavily from a jagged cut across his forehead and holding a smoking Remington shotgun, was Marco.
""Perimeter's cleared, Boss,"" Marco gasped, spitting blood onto the stones. ""The backup units arrived from the downtown precinct. Moretti’s men are dead or running.""
I didn't wait. I scrambled forward on my hands and knees, scooping Sophie back into my arms and burying my face in her soft curls, weeping uncontrollably. ""Sophie, baby, oh God, Sophie...""
""Mommy, I was brave,"" Sophie sobbed softly into my shoulder, trembling from head to toe. ""I did like the T-Rex.""
""You were the bravest girl in the world,"" I cried, rocking her back and forth.
Beside us, Alessandro was struggling to remain conscious. He had rolled over onto his side, his face pale as chalk, his chest hitching with shallow, ragged breaths. Yet, through the haze of agony and blood loss, his gray eyes were fixed entirely on my daughter.
""Sophie..."" he whispered, his voice barely a rasp.
I crawled to his side, letting Sophie hold his trembling, bloodied left hand. The little girl reached into her pocket with her free hand, pulled out a small, crumpled dinosaur bandage she had been carrying for weeks, and clumsily pressed it against the bullet hole leaking crimson through his tailored shirt.
""All better, mister,"" she snuffled through her tears. ""The dinosaur is biting the hurt.""
Alessandro’s lips curved into a faint, weak smile. A single tear tracked through the grime on his cheek. ""Thank you, little warrior,"" he murmured.
On the floor ten feet away, Elena groaned, clutching her broken leg as Marco stood over her, his shotgun aimed at her temple. She looked at Alessandro, then at me and Sophie, realization finally dawning in her venomous green eyes. ""Alessandro... wait... we can fix this... we can tell the commission...""
Alessandro didn't even look at her. ""Marco.""
""Yes, Boss?""
""Call the authorities,"" Alessandro commanded softly, closing his eyes as his head fell back against the stone wall. ""Hand her over to the federal prosecutors along with the Bernardo ledgers. Let her spend the rest of her life in an eight-by-ten cell, watching the world forget she ever existed.""
""Consider it done,"" Marco replied cold-bloodedly.
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Alessandro’s hand slipped weakly from Sophie’s grip, his eyes fluttering shut as unconsciousness finally claimed him.
""Alessandro!"" I cried, grabbing his cold face in my hands, panic seizing my heart once more. ""Stay with me! Alessandro, open your eyes! You promised you wouldn't leave us in the dark!""
