Chapter 7 - The Ambush
""Put him down!"" I screamed, lunging forward to grab Leo from his arms.
""Claire, listen to the gunfire!"" Vincent barked, sidestepping me and pressing Leo securely against his broad chest.
In the distance, the sharp, rhythmic pop-pop-pop of automatic rifles echoed across the quiet suburban street, followed by the terrifying squeal of burning rubber.
Leo didn't scream. He buried his face into the crook of Vincent’s neck, his small fingers instinctively clutching the lapels of his father’s heavy wool coat. The natural, terrifying ease with which the boy sought shelter against the very man he had met an hour ago struck me to my core.
""Dante Alvarez was Julian's cousin—the mole who planted the bomb six years ago,"" Vincent explained rapidly, herding me toward the reinforced back door of the house. ""He fled to Mexico when I purged the syndicate. He must have returned the moment he intercepted the school's medical outreach roster. He doesn't want money, Claire. He wants an heir. He wants to execute Leo in front of me to settle the score.""
The cold reality of the underworld I had fled came crashing down upon me with violent ferocity. Running away hadn't erased the blood on the Moretti name; it had merely left my son defenseless when the past inevitably caught up.
A volley of bullets shattered the front bay windows of my cottage, raining shards of glass onto the living room rug where Vincent had been kneeling moments before.
""Down!"" Vincent roared, wrapping his massive body over both Leo and me, slamming us to the hallway floor as plaster and wood exploded from the walls above us.
He didn't flinch as wood splinters sliced into his neck and coat. He was an impenetrable wall of flesh and armor, absorbing every danger, ensuring not a speck of dust touched our boy.
""Armored transport is in the alley,"" Vincent breathed against my ear, his voice calm, steady, and commanding amid the chaos. ""On my mark, you sprint to the Suburban. Marco is behind the wheel. You do not look back. Do you understand me, Claire?""
""What about you?"" I gasped, terror overriding every grievance I had ever held against him.
He looked down at me, his dark eyes blazing with an ancient, terrifying fire. For the first time, I saw the man who had conquered a city—not a cold tyrant who ignored his wife, but a warrior who would dismantle the world to keep his family breathing.
""I told you six years ago I couldn't be everywhere at once,"" Vincent whispered, brushing a stray lock of hair from my forehead with a dust-covered thumb. ""I lied. I will burn every man who dares look at you. Now go!""
Vincent kicked open the rear door.
Two masked gunmen rounded the corner of the fence, rifles raised. Before they could pull their triggers, Vincent drew a customized Kimber .45 from his shoulder holster with terrifying speed. Two deafening shots cracked through the alley, and both attackers dropped instantly.
""Move!""
I grabbed Leo from his arms, sprinting through the smoke-filled alley toward the roaring black armored Suburban waiting with its heavy doors thrown open. Marco, Vincent’s trusted lieutenant, provided covering fire with a submachine gun, spraying the perimeter to keep the encroaching hitmen pinned down.
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I scrambled into the reinforced backseat, pulling Leo beneath my chest as Marco slammed the armored door shut.
Through the thick, bullet-resistant glass, I saw Vincent standing in the middle of the burning alley. He wasn't retreating. Flanked by his elite guard, he advanced directly into the gunfire, a demon unleashed, systematically eliminating every threat that stood between his son and safety.
