Chapter 9 - Blood and Rain
The lobby was pitch-black, lit only by emergency red exit lights.
As soon as the doors closed behind me, four armed men in tactical gear stepped out from the darkness, pointing rifles at my head.
"Hands where I can see them!" one of them barked.
I held the baby carrier high with one hand, keeping my other hand visible. "I'm Lena Vance! I brought the child! Take me to Moretti!"
The leader checked the covered carrier, saw the pink blanket, and smirked. "Walk."
They escorted me up the central elevator to the fifth floor—the pediatric unit. The doors slid open, revealing a horrifying scene. Dozens of young children, frightened nurses, and doctors were huddled together on the floor in the main hallway, surrounded by Moretti's heavily armed guards.
At the far end of the hallway, standing in front of a floor-to-ceiling glass window overlooking the city, was Anthony Moretti.
He turned around, a manic, crazy look in his eyes.
"Welcome, Mrs. Vance," Moretti sneered, stepping over a row of scared nurses. "You really came. I guess you actually care about these pathetic little brats."
"Where is the detonator, Moretti?" I asked coldly, taking slow steps toward him, holding the carrier tightly. "You have what you want. Let the children go."
"Oh, they’ll go... once I put a bullet in your head and throw Julian’s little bastard off this balcony!" Moretti laughed insanely, raising a thick black detonator in his left hand and a pistol in his right.
Through my earpiece, Victor’s voice came through, crisp and cold.
"I'm in position on the ceiling air vents directly above him. On three, Lena."
My breath hitched. I squeezed my hands into fists.
"One..." Victor counted softly.
Moretti stepped closer to me, aiming his pistol directly at my face. "Any last words, waitress?"
"Two..."
I looked Moretti straight in the eyes and smiled. "Duck."
"THREE!"
CRASH!
The reinforced glass ceiling above Moretti exploded into a million shimmering shards.
A shadow descended from the sky like an avenging angel. Victor smashed through the glass, landing gracefully on his feet. Before Moretti could even pull the trigger, Victor’s blade sliced upward, severing Moretti’s hand holding the detonator at the wrist!
Moretti screamed in agonizing pain as his severed hand and the detonator tumbled to the floor.
"NOW!" Victor roared.
Simultaneously, the glass windows along the hallway shattered as Victor’s elite tactical team rappelled down from the roof, bursting into the hallway. Within three seconds, gunfire echoed through the corridor. Moretti’s men were cut down before they could react.
I dove to the floor, covering my head as promised.
The firefight lasted less than ten seconds. When the noise settled, all eight of Moretti’s guards were lying lifeless on the floor.
Moretti was clutching his bleeding wrist, screaming in terror as he backed up against the shattered balcony window.
Victor stepped toward him, his heavy boots crunching on broken glass. His face was covered in blood, his eyes burning with an ancient, terrifying fury. He grabbed Moretti by the collar and slammed him against the window frame, dangling him over the fifty-story drop into the rainy abyss below.
"Wait! Victor, please!" Moretti shrieked, weeping hysterically. "Mercy! I’ll leave the city! I’ll give you everything!"
"You killed my brother," Victor growled, his voice vibrating with absolute lethality. "You threatened my niece. And you put the woman I love in danger."
"Please—!"
"Rot in hell," Victor whispered.
Victor let go.
Moretti’s screams faded into the dark, rainy night as he fell through the sky, ending the Moretti syndicate once and for all.
Victor turned back toward the hallway. The nurses and children were safe, cheered on by his men who were quickly securing the building.
Victor walked over to me. He held out his hand, his eyes filled with a softness that belonged to me alone.
"It’s over, Lena," he said softly. "We're free."
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I didn't take his hand. Instead, I threw my arms around his neck, pulling him down into a fierce, desperate kiss.
Victor froze for a fraction of a second in shock before wrapping his arms tightly around my waist, lifting me off my feet, and kissing me back with a passion that consumed every terror and pain we had endured.
