Chapter 6
The grueling therapy session was suddenly interrupted by a harsh, blaring siren that echoed through the entire compound. The bright lights of the gym flashed once, then shifted to a dim, tactical emergency setting. The heavy steel shutters over the reinforced glass windows automatically slammed down, sealing the room in shadows.
Massimo’s head snapped up. The exhaustion vanished from his face, instantly replaced by the terrifying, hyper-alert demeanor of a mob boss under siege.
"Perimeter breach," Massimo stated, his deep voice slicing through the sudden chaos.
The heavy gym doors burst open, and Silas rushed in, holding a suppressed automatic weapon. His face was tense. "Boss, we have multiple vehicles breaching the front gate. It's an organized hit. The O'Connors didn't wait for nightfall. They know exactly where the security blind spots are."
"The rat gave them the blueprints," Massimo concluded, his mind working with tactical brilliance. He looked down at his useless legs on the therapy mat, a surge of furious impotence gripping him. In a firefight, a man who couldn't walk was a liability.
Tessa stood frozen, her medical clipboard clutched to her chest. The reality of her patient's life had just violently crashed into her clinical bubble.
"Get the chair," Massimo ordered Tessa, his tone leaving absolutely no room for hesitation.
Tessa snapped out of her shock. She grabbed the sleek black wheelchair, bringing it parallel to the mat and locking the brakes. Massimo transferred seamlessly this time, adrenaline fueling his muscular arms.
"Silas, take the therapist to the basement bunker," Massimo commanded, pulling a heavy black handgun from a concealed holster beneath the gym mat. He racked the slide with a sharp, metallic clack. "I am going to the security control room."
"No," Tessa said, her voice shaking but her posture completely rigid.
Massimo and Silas both stared at her.
"Miss Fitzgerald, this is not a negotiation," Massimo growled, turning his wheelchair toward the door. "People are about to die in these hallways. Go with my man."
"I am your medical proxy," Tessa shot back, her dark eyes wide but fearless. "If you are caught in a crossfire, or if you are forced to wait out a siege in a lockdown room, your autonomic dysreflexia could trigger. A severe spike in your blood pressure without immediate medical intervention will kill you before a bullet does. I am not leaving my patient."
Silas looked at Massimo, completely unsure of how to handle the civilian.
May you like
Massimo studied Tessa’s face. She was terrified, but she was holding her ground. Her stubbornness was going to get her killed, but he didn't have the time to physically force her away.
"Fine," Massimo barked, spinning his wheelchair expertly toward the interior hallway. "Stay behind me. If I tell you to drop, you drop to the floor and you do not move."
