Chapter 8 - The Final Ambush
Love in a fortress is a fragile thing, constantly threatened by the shadows beyond the walls.
Three weeks after that night in the library, the war came to its violent, inevitable climax.
The Moretti crime family, desperate as their territorial control slipped away, launched a final, suicidal assault. But this time, they didn't strike at the estate.
They struck at the route to Mercy General Hospital, where Riley had gone under heavy guard to pick up a specialized nerve-stimulation device for Declan's treatment.
The call came into the West Wing study at three o'clock in the afternoon.
Gabe ran into the room, his face pale as ash, holding a ringing phone. "Boss! The transport van... it was hit on Grand Avenue! Two armored trucks rammed them!"
Declan stood up.
He didn't use the wheelchair. He was leaning heavily against the mahogany desk, his feet planted on the rug, his face twisted into a mask of pure, murderous rage. He was still weak, needing a cane to walk more than twenty feet, but the raw power of his aura was terrifying.
"Where is she?" Declan’s voice roared like thunder.
"Moretti’s men took her," Gabe stammered, terrified by the sheer physical presence of his resurrected boss. "They... they left a burner phone in the wrecked van. They want you, Declan. At the abandoned shipyard on Pier 4. In one hour. Alone."
Declan didn't hesitate. He reached into his desk drawer, pulled out his custom heavy revolver, and racked the slide with a lethal CLACK.
"Assemble the entire crew," Declan commanded, grabbing a reinforced walking cane from the wall. "Every gun. Every car. We are going to erase the Moretti family from this city."
"Boss, you can barely walk fifty steps!" Gabe pleaded, grabbing his coat. "Let me take the men!"
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Declan turned, his dark eyes glowing with a terrifying, demonic fire that made Gabe take an involuntary step back.
"They took Riley," Declan said softly, a promise of absolute annihilation. "I am going to walk into that shipyard, and I am going to rip them apart with my bare hands."
