Chapter 7 - Fire and Blood
"Get behind me, Matteo!" I pulled the boy behind my back, matching the same posture I had taken at Aurelios.
The attacker stepped forward, reaching out a gloved hand to grab Matteo. Panic flared, but so did a fierce, blinding rage. I wasn't the helpless girl from the restaurant anymore.
I grabbed a heavy antique brass statuette from a nearby pedestal and swung it with all the force in my body, striking the first gunman squarely in the side of his head. He crumpled to the floor with a groan.
The second man lunged at me, grabbing my wrist and pinning me against the wall. The stitches in my back throbbed with agony as my back slammed into the concrete, but I didn't care. I kicked him hard in the knee, forcing him to drop his weapon.
Before he could recover, a single, thunderous gunshot rang out through the hall.
The man collapsed, revealing Dante standing at the end of the corridor. His jacket was gone, his shirt stained with rain and gunsmoke, his eyes blazing with a demonic fury. He had returned the moment he realized the summit was a trap.
Dante marched down the hallway, stepping over the fallen bodies, and pulled Matteo and me into his arms. He squeezed us so tightly I could barely breathe, his body trembling with raw adrenaline and relief.
"You're safe," Dante breathed into my hair, his hands checking my face, my back, my arms for injuries. "God help me, you kept him safe again."
"We fought them, Papa!" Matteo cried out, wiping his eyes. "Clara hit them!"
Dante looked at me, a mixture of awe and profound devotion softening his harsh features. "You are incredible, Clara. Absolutely incredible."
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The house was secured, but the attack had crossed a line. Dante turned to his second-in-command, his voice dropping to a icy whisper that chilled the room.
"End the Marcones. Tonight. Leave nothing standing."
