Chapter 6 - The Unseen Crossfire
The sound of heavy boots hitting the linoleum landing outside the open apartment door was followed instantly by a shattering crash as the drywall beside the frame splintered under a high-caliber round.
"Get down!" Luca roared, his hand catching my shoulder and shoving me hard toward the interior hallway before I could even process the motion.
Maya screamed, a short, sharp sound of absolute terror, while Leo grabbed his sister by the sleeve, pulling her back toward the safety of the rear bedroom with the cold, instinctual discipline of a soldier finding cover. They didn't panic; they moved like shadows, diving behind the heavy oak dresser in the master bedroom just as a second bullet tore through the front window, turning the glass into a cascading rain of glittering shards.
Luca didn't flinch. He crouched low, his dark overcoat brushing the floor, his custom-weighted Sig Sauer raised and locked toward the entry threshold.
"Vincenzo!" Luca barked, his voice cutting through the ringing in my ears like a whip.
From the stairwell outside, a muffled grunt answered, followed by the dry, distinct thwip-thwip-thwip of a suppressed submachine gun. The gunfire stopped as abruptly as it had started, replaced by the heavy thud of a body collapsing against the outer concrete wall.
"Clear on the flank, Boss!" Vincenzo’s gravelly voice echoed through the shattered doorframe. "It’s a cleanup squad. Not local. They’re carrying government-issue tactical gear—agency contractors, not street muscle."
My heart hammered against my ribs with suffocating force. I crawled on my hands and knees from the hallway floor toward the master bedroom, my eyes wide, searching for my children. Maya was curled into a tight ball against the baseboard, sobbing quietly into her knees, while Leo stood over her, his small body shielding her, his dark eyes locked on the doorway with a fierce, terrifying intensity that looked too much like the man standing in the living room.
"Vivien," Luca muttered, backing slowly into the bedroom while keeping his weapon trained on the hallway. He didn't look at me, his focus split entirely between the perimeter and the children. "Listen to me very carefully. Whoever tipped them off to my location knew exactly where I was going. That means my inner circle has been compromised from the top down."
"I don't care about your inner circle!" I hissed, my voice shaking with rage and terror as I pulled Maya into my arms. "You brought this to my doorstep! You brought killers to where my children sleep!"
May you like
Luca finally turned his head, his dark eyes catching mine. There was no coldness in them now—only a deep, burning regret that cut deeper than any weapon. "I didn't bring them here, Vivien. They tracked me because of what happened six years ago—the night you ran."
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