Chapter 7 - THE RECKONING
Julian lifted his bloody head, looking across the room toward me and Leo. Despite the gun pressed against his temple, his voice was steady and absolute.
"Don't do it, Mara," Julian commanded softly. "Take Leo and run through the tunnels. Don't give him anything."
"Shut up!" Hector growled, striking Julian across the face with the butt of his revolver. Julian spat blood onto the floor, refusing to break eye contact with me.
My hands were shaking, but as I looked at Julian—the man who had protected me, the man who had given me a family, the man I had come to love—a cold, terrifying calm settled over my soul. The blood of two powerful families ran through my veins. I was no longer the frightened waitress from Bellagio.
I stepped out from behind the mahogany desk, holding Leo firmly against my hip with my left arm, while my right hand remained hidden behind my back, clutching my pistol.
"Hector!" I called out, my voice ringing clearly through the smoky room. "You want D'Angelo blood? I am Carlo's daughter. I hold the legitimate claim to the Chicago shipping lines."
Hector turned his attention to me, a greedy smile spreading across his face. "Ah, the girl speaks. Come here, niece. Hand over the boy and your signet, and I might let you live as a puppet queen."
I walked slowly toward him, stepping over shattered glass and spent shell casings. Julian watched me, his eyes wide with desperate warning. Mara, no! he mouthed.
I stopped five feet from Hector.
"You murdered my father," I said softly, my voice dropping to a whisper. "You chased my mother until she died of fear. And now you threaten my family."
"Family?" Hector sneered. "You're a D'Angelo! You belong to me!"
"I belong to no one," I said.
In one fluid, blinding motion, I brought my right hand from behind my back and fired two shots point-blank into Hector's knee and shoulder.
Hector shrieked in agony, dropping to his knees as his gun clattered to the floor.
Before his bodyguards could react, Julian lunged forward despite his chains, using his massive body to sweep the feet from under the two nearest guards. The remaining Vance enforcers, led by Beatrice from behind the desk, opened fire, cutting down the rest of the mercenaries in a swift, brutal volley.
The foyer fell dead silent.
Hector lay bleeding on the marble, looking up at me in terror as I stood over him, my gun pointed squarely between his eyes.
"Please... Mara..." Hector gasped, blood leaking from his mouth. "We share... the same blood..."
I looked down at him, my finger resting on the trigger.
Julian stepped up beside me, his hand gently resting over mine on the gun. His touch was warm, steady, and grounding.
"Don't stain your soul with him, Mara," Julian whispered softly into my ear. "Let the law and the Commission handle his execution. You are better than them."
May you like
I looked into Julian's dark eyes, then down at Leo, who was watching me with quiet trust.
Slowly, I lowered the weapon.
