Chapter 5 - Fire on the SnowThe windows of the estate shattered inward as mortar fire blew through the eastern wing. Sirens began to wail, mixing with the sharp crackle of automatic gunfire outside.
Sophia had tracked Tyler to the estate. She had used my pathetic ex as a trojan horse to locate Vincent’s fortress.
"Leo! Get her to the safe room!" Vincent roared, drawing two pistols as heavy footsteps pounded up the grand staircase.
"No! I'm not leaving you!" I cried, grabbing his arm.
"Emily, listen to me," Vincent said, grabbing my nape and pulling me into a fierce, breathless kiss. "You are my life now. If anything happens to you, this whole city burns. Get into the vault!"
Leo dragged me down the hidden hallway toward the reinforced steel safe room just as Sophia’s mercenaries breached the main floor. Through the security camera monitors inside the dark vault, I watched in terrified awe as Vincent fought like a demon possessed.
He moved through the smoke and fire, protecting his men, driving back Sophia’s forces with ruthless precision. But Sophia’s men had numbers.
On the screen, I saw Vincent take a bullet to his shoulder, stumbling back against the marble fireplace of the main hall. Sophia stepped through the smoke, holding a shotgun, pointing it directly at Vincent’s chest as he lay wounded on the floor.
"It ends today, Nephew," Sophia’s voice echoed through the estate intercom. "The DeLuca empire returns to real blood."
Inside the safe room, my breath hitched. I looked at the heavy vault door controls, then at the rack of security gear near the wall.
Nobody touches what belongs to me. His words echoed in my mind.
I didn't hesitate. I grabbed a flare gun from the emergency wall kit, punched the door release button, and ran back into the burning hallway.
I burst into the grand hall just as Sophia raised her weapon.
"Sophia!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.
She turned in surprise. I fired the flare gun directly at the heavy silk drapes hanging right above her head. The flare ignited the dry fabric instantly, creating a roaring curtain of fire that fell directly onto Sophia and her primary shooters.
Sophia shrieked, stumbling backward as the burning velvet enveloped them.
Vincent didn't waste a microsecond. Driven by a final surge of adrenaline, he swept up his gun from the floor and neutralized the remaining guards. Leo and the loyalist reinforcements burst through the front entrance seconds later, completely securing the floor and capturing Sophia.
The fight was over.
Vincent collapsed against the stone hearth, bleeding profusely from his shoulder, gasping for air amidst the smoke. I dropped the flare gun and threw myself onto the floor beside him, pulling his heavy head into my lap, pressing my shirt against his wound to stop the bleeding.
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"You... you crazy, beautiful woman," Vincent rasped, a bloody smile breaking across his pale, handsome face as he looked up at me through the smoke. "You blew up my curtains."
"I told you," I sobbed, laughing through my tears as I kissed his bloody cheek. "I won't let anyone hurt you."
