Chapter 6 - Blood on the Marble
The deafening shriek of the sirens tore me from a restless sleep. Red emergency lights pulsed along the baseboards of the hallway.
Panic surged through my veins. "Leo!"
I bolted down the hall toward the west wing, but before I could reach the door, a heavy explosion rocked the foundation of the house. The chandeliers above rattled violently, glass raining down onto the Persian rugs. Smoke began to pour through the ventilation vents.
"Saraphina! Get in here!" Dr. Vance yelled from the master suite.
I lunged into the bedroom, slamming the reinforced oak door behind me. Leo was awake, screaming in terror as the bed shook beneath him.
"Mommy! Mommy!"
"I'm here, baby, I'm here!" I scooped him into my arms, IV lines tugging slightly as Dr. Vance skillfully disconnected the portable port with practiced speed.
Suddenly, the heavy door blew inward off its hinges with a sickening crunch.
Two men dressed in tactical black gear and ballistic masks burst through the dust, semi-automatic rifles raised. "Step away from the kid, lady!" one barked in a thick Brooklyn accent.
"Get away from us!" I screamed, shielding Leo with my entire body, pressing my back against the wall.
Before the men could take another step, a shadow materialized behind them in the smoke like an avenging demon.
Kieran appeared. He wasn't wearing body armor. He held a customized black automatic pistol in each hand. Without uttering a single word, he fired two double-taps with chilling precision.
The two intruders collapsed instantly onto the hardwood, their weapons clattering uselessly across the floor.
Kieran stepped over their bodies, his eyes blazing with murderous fury. His white shirt was splattered with dark crimson, and a graze on his cheek was bleeding freely, but he showed no sign of pain.
"Are you hit?" he demanded, rushing over and dropping to one knee beside us.
"We're okay! We're not hit!" I cried, shaking uncontrollably as Leo sobbed into my collarbone.
"Moretti bypassed the outer gate using an inside leak," Kieran said, his teeth gritted in rage. "Marcus is clearing the courtyard now, but Dominic is personally outside with twenty armored vehicles. He wants Leo, Saraphina."
"We can't win against twenty vehicles!" Dr. Vance shouted over the rising gunfire echoing from the front lawn.
"This house has a subterranean panic room behind the wine cellar," Kieran said, taking Leo gently from my arms despite the boy's terrified grip. "Vance, take the emergency medical kit and follow me. Saraphina, stay on my heel."
We sprinted through the smoke-filled corridors. Kieran moved with lethal grace, carrying my son against his chest with his left arm while keeping his pistol raised with his right. Guards in Blackwood uniforms engaged intruders in the grand foyer below, the sharp bark of automatic fire and flashbangs turning the mansion into a terrifying war zone.
We reached the heavy steel blast door hidden behind the false brick wall of the wine cellar. Kieran punched in an eight-digit biometric code, and the hydraulic seals hissed open.
"Get inside," Kieran ordered, handing Leo back to me.
I looked at him, horror dawning on me. "Aren't you coming in with us?!"
"If I lock myself in here with you, Dominic will bring siege equipment and bury us alive," Kieran said, his voice deadly calm. "This ends tonight. Dominic Moretti came onto my land, broke into my home, and threatened my family. He doesn't leave Westchester breathing."
"Kieran, no! You'll be killed!" I begged, grabbing his hand. "Please, don't leave me!"
Kieran looked down at our joined hands, then stepped closer, cupping the side of my face with his bloodstained palm. He leaned down and pressed his lips against mine in a kiss that was fierce, desperate, and filled with months of suppressed desire.
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"I survived twenty years in this underworld, Saraphina," he whispered against my lips, his breath hot and ragged. "And now I have a reason to live. Close the door. Do not open it for anyone except my voice."
Before I could reply, he hit the emergency seal button and shoved us inside. The heavy steel door slammed shut, cutting off the sounds of gunfire and leaving us in the quiet hum of the bunker.
