Chapter 3 - Blood on the Marble
The hallway outside the nursery exploded into a blur of motion and violence.
Before the two guards could adjust their sights, I lunged forward out of the smoke, grabbing the barrel of the lead guard’s rifle and jerking it upward. The weapon discharged into the plaster ceiling, raining white dust over our heads.
With my free hand, I slammed the butt of my pistol into the guard’s jaw. He dropped like a stone, unconscious before he hit the Persian rug.
The second guard scrambled backward, fumbling for his sidearm, but a small, heavy object suddenly flew out from the nursery door—a full crystal decanter thrown with terrifying precision by Hunter. It caught the guard square in the temple, staggering him long enough for me to sweep his legs out from under him and pin him to the floor with my boot.
"Stay down, or I'll save the judicial system some paperwork," I snarled, pressing the barrel of my gun against his forehead.
"Mr. Rossi—please! We were just following orders from Mr. Vance!" the guard gasped, his eyes wide with terror.
"Where is he?" I demanded.
"The... the panic room on the ground floor! He’s activating the estate’s primary override to lock down the perimeter!"
I didn't waste another breath. I turned back toward the nursery. Hunter stood in the doorway, holding Leo tightly against her chest. The baby was breathing steadily now, his color returning to a healthy, rosy pink. The terrifying gray pallor that had haunted his skin for weeks was completely gone.
"Are you hit?" I asked, my voice uncharacteristically urgent as I grabbed her arm.
"No," Hunter coughed, wiping a tear from her cheek. "I'm okay. But the gas—we need to get out of this house."
"We aren't leaving yet," I said, my eyes hardening into polished steel. "Marcus wants to play god in my home? I’m going to show him what happens when he wakes up a dead man."
I stripped the tactical radio and keycard off the unconscious guard at my feet, slinging his assault rifle over my shoulder.
"Can you run?" I asked Hunter.
She looked down at Leo, who had drifted into a peaceful, milk-drunk sleep against her chest. She pulled her torn uniform together, secured the makeshift sling she had fashioned from her undershirt to support him safely, and looked up at me with eyes completely devoid of fear.
"I've been running my whole life, Mr. Rossi," Hunter said quietly. "Lead the way."
We moved through the sprawling mansion like phantoms. The Grand Estate was a labyrinth of vaulted ceilings, priceless art, and hidden panic rooms, but I had designed every square inch of it myself. I knew every blind spot, every structural weakness, and every wire running through the smart-home automation system.
As we reached the grand marble staircase overlooking the foyer, a half-dozen armed mercenaries hired by Marcus were sweeping the ground floor with flashlights and submachine guns.
"Clear!" one shouted from the east wing.
"Check the security terminal!" another yelled near the main entrance.
I gestured for Hunter to stay low behind the carved mahogany balustrade. I raised the guard's assault rifle, aimed carefully over the railing, and squeezed the trigger.
Rat-tat-tat-tat.
Bullet casings rained down onto the marble floor below, shattering two expensive crystal chandeliers and sending the mercenaries scrambling behind marble pillars for cover.
"Intruders on the grand staircase! Sector four!"
"Suppressing fire!"
Bullets chipped the marble inches from where we crouched. Shards of stone flew through the air, stinging my cheeks. I returned fire, keeping their heads down while pulling a small electronic bypass device from my tactical vest—a tool designed to hack military-grade encryption lockers.
"Hunter," I whispered over the deafening cracks of gunfire. "When I say go, run down the service corridor behind the library. It leads straight to the underground stables. There's an armored Land Rover with a satellite link inside. Take Leo and drive through the security gate."
"And you?" she asked, her voice sharp.
"I'm going to have a little chat with my brother-in-law."
Before she could argue, I stood up, exposed myself to the line of fire, and emptied a full magazine into the floor-to-ceiling smart-glass windows overlooking the courtyard, plunging the grand foyer into darkness as the automated storm shutters slammed shut.
May you like
"Go!" I shouted.
Hunter didn't hesitate. Clutching Leo against her chest, she vanished into the shadows of the service corridor as I vaulted over the railing, dropping ten feet straight into the chaos below.
