Chapter 4 - The Siege of the Estate
The sound of automatic gunfire echoed through the reinforced concrete walls of the lower-level suite, turning Sophia’s blood to ice.
On the bank of monitors, the courtyard had transformed into a war zone. Glass from the grand entrance windows shattered outward like crystal shrapnel as Salvatore Russo’s hitmen breached the main foyer. Mateo’s security team fought back with tactical precision, but the attackers were ruthless, flooding the grounds with superior numbers.
“They’re in the west wing,” Sophia muttered, clutching Emma tightly against her chest.
Bruno paced back and forth in front of the reinforced steel door of the panic room, his hackles raised, low thunder rolling deep inside his massive chest. The dog wasn't whimpering; he was calculating. Every muscle in his scarred body was coiled like a steel spring.
Suddenly, the security monitor for the main hallway flickered. Two masked men in tactical gear had bypassed the upper security grid and were heading straight down the private corridor toward the lower suites.
“They know where the safe rooms are,” Sophia whispered, panic choking her throat.
The heavy iron door rattled. A loud, metallic clack echoed through the room as someone jammed an electronic override device into the keypad outside. The red warning light blinked frantically, turning from amber to frantic, flashing red.
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
“Mommy, it’s loud,” Emma whimpered, burying her face in Sophia’s apron.
“Shh, sweet girl, close your eyes. Mommy’s right here,” Sophia cried, her eyes darting around the room for a weapon—anything to protect her daughter. There was nothing. Just heavy furniture and luxury decor.
With a deafening hiss of high-pressure hydraulics, the heavy steel door of the panic room began to slide open. The override had worked.
Time seemed to slow down.
The smoke from the upper hallway drifted into the doorway, and through the haze, a masked man stepped inside, leveling the barrel of a suppressed submachine gun directly toward the sofa where Sophia and Emma sat.
“Found the rat and her brat,” the intruder grunted, his voice distorted by a tactical mask.
Sophia threw her body over Emma, squeezing her eyes shut, waiting for the searing heat of a bullet.
She never felt it.
A streak of black lightning rocketed past her ear.
Bruno didn't growl. He didn't bark. He launched himself forty pounds of pure, unadulterated muscle straight into the throat of the intruder.
The impact sounded like a baseball bat hitting a side of beef. The hitman’s gun discharged wildly, riddling the ceiling with bullets as he was slammed backward against the reinforced concrete wall with bone-crushing force. Bruno’s jaws clamped down on the man's tactical shoulder guard, tearing through Kevlar and canvas as if it were tissue paper.
The second intruder stepped into the doorway, raising his weapon to shoot the dog.
Before he could pull the trigger, a dark, heavy shadow dropped from the upper ventilation shaft behind him.
Crack.
A heavy combat boot connected with the back of the second man’s skull, dropping him instantly to the floor like a sack of wet cement.
Sophia opened her eyes, shaking uncontrollably. Standing over the unconscious intruder was Alessandro Moretti.
His overcoat was spattered with fresh blood—none of it his. His black hair was damp with melting snow, and his dark eyes burned with an icy, terrifying fury. He looked down at the man Bruno had pinned to the floor, then slowly turned his gaze toward Sophia and Emma.
“Are you hurt?” Alessandro asked, his voice dead calm despite the adrenaline pumping through his veins.
“N-no,” Sophia stammered, pulling Emma closer. “We’re safe.”
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Alessandro looked down at Bruno, who released his grip on the whimpering hitman, stepped back, and let out a single, proud huff before walking over to Emma and licking her knee.
“Good dog,” Alessandro murmured, before looking back at Sophia with an expression that sent a completely different kind of shockwave straight through her heart. “The estate is secure. But Russo just made his move, which means the war has only just begun. And you and your daughter are staying right by my side from now on.”
