Chapter 6 - The Blood on the Stairs
Hannah ran into Gabriel’s master suite, her heart tearing itself apart inside her chest.
The bedroom was silent, the steel shutters keeping out the gray afternoon light. From beyond the heavy oak door, the thunder of gunfire and shouting echoed like a nightmare.
She ran to the walk-in closet, found the hidden panel behind his dark suits, and inserted the silver key into the hidden lock.
The panel slid open with a soft hiss, revealing a small, lit elevator cabin.
She stepped inside.
Her thumb hovered over the green button that would send her down into the safety of the underground tunnel. All she had to do was press it, escape to the car, and wait for the police or Marco’s men. She would be safe. Noah would be safe.
“I spent five years building an empire where no one under my roof is ever left at the mercy of a price tag or a clock...”
Gabriel’s words rang in her head.
He had saved her brother’s life without asking for a dime. He had held her when she was sick. He had opened his dark, grieving heart to her when he had refused every other woman in the world for five long years.
If he died today, her life would be safe, but her soul would be forever broken.
“No,” Hannah whispered.
She pulled her hand away from the elevator button.
She turned around, stepped out of the hidden closet, and grabbed a heavy brass statue sitting on Gabriel’s nightstand.
She walked back to the bedroom door and peeked through the small crack.
The upper hallway was thick with grey smoke. Three Castello enforcers lay dead on the Persian rug.
At the top of the grand staircase stood Gabriel.
His shirt was soaked with blood at his right shoulder—a bullet graze—but his posture was unyielding. He had executed four attackers, but his ammunition was spent. His slide was locked back on his empty pistol.
Stepping out from the smoke at the top of the stairs was a tall, silver-haired man wearing a long leather trench coat.
Dominic Castello.
Dominic held a gold-plated revolver pointed directly at Gabriel’s chest.
“Five years, Gabriel,” Dominic sneered, his face contorted with evil triumph. “Five years I waited for you to slip up. And you threw away your empire for a little servant girl.”
Gabriel stood tall, despite the blood dripping down his sleeve, his gray eyes staring at Dominic with absolute, fearless contempt.
“You’re a dog, Dominic,” Gabriel said coldly. “You always were.”
“Say goodbye, Moretti,” Dominic smiled, pulling back the hammer of his revolver.
BANG!
A sharp, violent sound shattered the air—but it didn't come from Dominic’s gun.
Hannah had rushed out from the shadows behind Dominic and slammed the heavy brass statue into the back of his head with all the strength in her body.
Dominic let out a choked gasp, stumbling forward, his gold revolver dropping onto the marble floor.
“YOU LITTLE BITCH!” Dominic screamed, turning around, his face covered in blood, reaching out his large hand to strangle Hannah.
“DON’T TOUCH HER!” Gabriel roared.
Gabriel lunged forward like a striking predator. He caught Dominic’s wrist, twisted it back with a horrific CRACK, and drove a devastating knee into Dominic’s ribs.
Dominic collapsed onto his knees, gasping for air.
Gabriel grabbed the silver-haired mafia boss by his collar, dragged him to the edge of the grand staircase, and looked down into his bleeding face.
“This is for Evelyn,” Gabriel whispered into Dominic’s ear.
May you like
Gabriel shoved him.
Dominic Castello tumbled down forty marble steps, his body crashing violently against the iron railings until he landed in a broken, lifeless heap on the foyer floor below.
