Chapter 6 - The Shadows Catch Up
Before I could answer, the glass display window of the flower shop exploded inward with a deafening roar.
Shards of glass showered the room like lethal hail. The high-pitched crack of suppressed gunfire echoed through the street outside. Instinctively, Alexander didn't run for cover—he lunged forward with inhuman speed, throwing his entire body over mine and tackling us behind the heavy mahogany checkout counter just as a hail of bullets ripped through the wall where I had been standing seconds before.
""Stay down!"" he roared, wrapping his arms tightly around my back and head, shielding me entirely with his body.
Pain grunted from his lips as a blunt thud struck his shoulder, but he didn't move an inch off me. ""I've got you, Claire. I've got you. Don't look.""
Outside, heavy automatic gunfire erupted as Alexander's security convoy engaged the attackers. Shouts, screeches of tires, and shattering metal turned the peaceful coastal street into an active warzone.
""Who is that?!"" I cried out in terror, my hands clutching Alexander’s coat as my heart hammered against my ribs. The baby kicked violently inside me, distressed by the deafening noise.
""The Volkov syndicate,"" Alexander growled through clenched teeth, his face pale with exertion. ""When I abandoned Chicago business four months ago to scour the country for you, they took advantage of my absence. They must have tracked my convoy when I drove into Maine.""
He reached beneath his jacket, pulling a customized black semi-automatic pistol from his holster. For a second, the lethal, terrifying boss of Chicago was back. But when he looked down at me, his eyes held only desperate terror for my safety.
""Claire, listen to me,"" he whispered urgently, pressing his forehead against mine. Blood was soaking through the left shoulder of his dark coat, pooling against the floor. ""There’s a reinforced cellar door beneath the rug in the back office. Martha told my advance scout about it earlier today. I need you to crawl back there and lock the steel bolt from the inside. Do not open it for anyone except Marco. Do you understand me?""
""You're bleeding!"" I gasped, staring at the dark red stain spreading across his chest.
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""It's a graze. It doesn't matter,"" he said fiercely, cupping my cheek with a shaking, blood-stained hand. ""Nothing matters except you and our daughter. If I die today, Claire, just know... loving you was the only good thing I ever did in this miserable life.""
Before I could reply, the back door of the shop was kicked open. Two masked men in tactical gear stepped inside, their rifles raised.
