Chapter 4 - The Viper's Nest
"Stay behind me!" Alessio yelled, pulling his 9mm semi-automatic pistol from his holster and flinging the nursery door open.
The grand hallway downstairs was bathed in flickering crimson red emergency lights. The security alarms were wailing—a deafening, rhythmic siren that shook the walls.
"Dominic!" Alessio shouted over the balcony.
Below, in the grand foyer, Dominic was crouching behind a marble column, firing upward toward the guest wing balcony. Gunfire exchanged in quick, deafening bursts, light flashing across the dark oil paintings on the walls.
"It’s a strike team!" Dominic screamed back, ducking as plaster exploded near his head. "They came through the back courtyard gate! They disabled the perimeter sensors from the inside!"
"Elena," I yelled to Alessio over the noise. "She opened the gates!"
"Where is Leo?" Alessio asked, turning to me, his eyes burning with absolute, frantic focus.
"He's in the master suite safe room! I locked him in before we came down here!"
"Good," Alessio said. He grabbed my arm, his grip warm and iron-tight. "You stay with him. Don't open that door for anyone except me. If anyone tries to breach it..." He pulled a small, compact revolver from his ankle holster and slapped it into my right hand. "You shoot until it clicks."
I looked down at the cold heavy steel, then into the eyes of the deadliest man in Chicago. "Don't die, Alessio."
A dark, sharp smile touched his lips. "I have something to live for now."
He turned and leaped down the grand staircase, firing three rapid shots that took out an intruder advancing through the lower hall with terrifying precision.
I ran back toward the master suite. The hallway was slick with rain blowing in from a smashed window at the far end. My hearts pounded in my chest as I reached the heavy reinforced door of the master bedroom.
I slid my keycard into the lock. The indicator turned green, and I slipped inside, locking the door behind me.
In the corner, behind a heavy bookcase that swung outward, sat the suite's hidden safe room. I pushed it open. Baby Leo was lying inside his portable crib, snuggled in his blanket, blinking up at the ceiling lights, completely unaware of the war raging outside.
"Hey baby," I whispered, picking him up and hugging him tightly against my shoulder. My heart was pounding so hard I was afraid he could feel it. "We're safe. Your dad is taking care of it."
Suddenly, the lights inside the safe room went out.
Total darkness swallowed us.
The hum of the ventilation system died. A heavy, sickening silence fell over the room, replacing the distant sound of gunshots.
Someone had cut the emergency generator cables.
From the master bedroom outside the safe room, I heard the faint, distinct sound of high heels clicking softly against the hardwood floor.
"Claire?" a smooth, gentle female voice called out from the dark room. "Claire, dear, it's Elena. Alessio sent me to get you. The house isn't safe. We need to leave through the tunnel now."
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I squeezed the small revolver in my hand, raising it with trembling arms toward the open doorway of the safe room.
"Stay where you are, Elena," I said, my voice echoing off the concrete walls. "I know it was you."
