Chapter 8 - the stolen key
Outside the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, red emergency backup lights instantly flashed on, casting long, eerie shadows across the grand room.
"Breach on the North Wall!" Marco’s voice barked over the house comms as he pulled his sidearm from his shoulder holster. "Power grid bypassed from the outside main transformer!"
Alessandro didn't hesitate. In one fluid movement, he pulled Catherine and Logan behind the heavy mahogany desk, standing in front of them with a dark sidearm drawn from his desk drawer.
"Harris, take them to the lower safe room!" Alessandro commanded flatly, his dark eyes sweeping the darkened hallway.
"No!" Catherine cried out, clinging to Alessandro’s arm. "I'm not leaving you!"
Alessandro turned his head, looking down into her brown eyes in the dim red emergency light. He reached out, his warm, broad hand briefly cupping her cheek with an intense, fierce affection.
"You are safe here, Catherine," Alessandro promised, his deep voice calm and unwavering. "Go with Harris. I will finish this."
Dr. Harris quickly led Catherine and Logan down a hidden staircase concealed behind a revolving bookshelf, descending into a fortified subterranean panic room beneath the estate.
Upstairs, the heavy iron doors of the grand foyer burst open.
Six armed men in dark tactical gear stepped into the marble hall, their weapons raised. But before they could clear the foyer, Alessandro and Marco opened fire with lethal, breathtaking precision.
The gunfight in the grand foyer was swift and merciless. Alessandro moved with terrifying, masculine dominance, taking down three intruders himself before the remaining men collapsed onto the marble floor.
Among the fallen intruders, Marco dragged a tall, surviving operative into the light of the red emergency lamps.
Alessandro walked over, his heavy boots stepping through the debris, his expression an ice-cold mask of death. He pressed the barrel of his sidearm against the operative's forehead.
"Who sent you tonight?" Alessandro demanded, his voice dangerously low.
May you like
The operative spat a small mouthful of saliva onto the marble, grimacing in pain. "You're too late, Romano... The Architect already has the secondary key from the hospital vault... Your time is over."
Alessandro’s eyes narrowed. He looked down at the man's left hand. On his ring finger sat a heavy silver signet ring depicting a coiled serpent—the exact ring David had described in his written warning.
