Chapter 10 - The Siege of the Estate
“Get down!” Vincent roared, releasing Tessa’s wrist and violently spinning his wheelchair around to place himself between her and the shattered doorway.
From the darkened foyer, automatic gunfire erupted in a furious, deafening rattle. Bullets chewed through the mahogany desk, sending thick clouds of sawdust and wood chips flying into the air, while heavy boots thundered across the marble floor.
Dominic’s remaining hit squad had breached the main entrance, launching a desperate, all-out suicide assault on the east wing.
“Frankie!” Vincent bellowed at the top of his lungs, reaching down to grab his .45 pistol from the desk blotter just as another volley of submachine gun fire shattered the remaining windowpanes.
From the hallway outside, the distinctive, heavy boom of a shotgun answered back. Frankie and two of his loyal enforcers had arrived from the basement armory, laying down a fierce, suppressive wall of fire that forced the advancing mercenaries to dive for cover behind the marble pillars in the foyer.
“Boss! We’re cut off from the main staircase!” Frankie yelled over the deafening din of gunfire, ducking into the study doorway with a smoking pump-action shotgun in his hands. “They’ve got the second-floor landing pinned down! More of them are coming through the courtyard glass doors!”
Vincent’s mind raced with tactical clarity. The estate was built like a fortress, but a fortress with compromised guards meant they were trapped in a fishbowl.
“Tessa,” Vincent said sharply, not looking back as he checked the magazine of his pistol. “The tunnel behind the bookshelf. Go, now.”
“I’m not leaving you to fight an army alone!” Tessa shouted over the gunfire, grabbing a heavy metal fireplace poker.
“That’s an order!” Vincent roared, turning his head to lock eyes with her, his face a mask of absolute, unyielding command. “Frankie will escort you to the garage. There’s an armored vehicle waiting. Get out of here, save yourself, and make sure Marcus and the ledger make it to the federal authorities if I don't make it out.”
Tessa’s chest heaved, tears of frustration and fear finally spilling over her lashes, but she saw the absolute finality in his gaze. She knew arguing with him was useless.
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“Damn you, Vincent Corvino,” she whispered fiercely, before turning and letting Frankie grab her arm to pull her toward the hidden wall panel.
As the hidden bookshelf slid open into the dark, stone-lined escape tunnel, a sudden, blinding flash illuminated the foyer, followed by the deafening roar of a heavy explosive charge detonating against the heavy oak study doors.
