Chapter 7 - The Siege of Highland Park
The massive, terrifying sound of automatic gunfire completely drowned out the peaceful, quiet rain falling outside the estate windows.
Dozens of Falcone mercenaries, dressed entirely in black tactical gear, swarmed the expansive front lawn, returning aggressive fire against Vincent’s highly trained security team.
The beautiful, imported stained-glass windows of the grand foyer shattered inward, spraying deadly shards across the pristine marble floors.
"Dante, lock down the primary corridors and hold the grand staircase at all costs!" Vincent roared into his encrypted radio, shoving Ruby behind his broad back.
"They are trying to push toward the nursery, do not let them reach the second floor!"
Ruby’s heart hammered violently against her ribs, pure, unadulterated terror threatening to paralyze her completely.
But the sudden, horrified thought of little Leo sleeping upstairs in his bed immediately overrode every single ounce of fear in her body.
"I have to get Leo," Ruby screamed over the deafening roar of the gunfight, desperately trying to run toward the marble stairs.
Vincent grabbed her arm, pulling her firmly back behind the safety of the thick mahogany library door.
"You cannot go out there, Ruby, they will cut you in half with an assault rifle!" Vincent yelled, firing three precise shots into the hallway and dropping a mercenary.
"I am not leaving him up there alone, Vincent!" Ruby cried, tears of frantic, maternal desperation streaming down her face.
Before Vincent could physically stop her, a massive explosion rocked the front entrance, momentarily distracting him and throwing him against the wall.
Ruby did not hesitate for a single second; she sprinted out of the library, completely ignoring the flying bullets and the chaos surrounding her.
She ran barefoot up the grand marble staircase, her lungs burning, dodging the broken vases and the bodies of fallen guards lying on the carpet.
She burst into the nursery, finding Leo sitting up in his bed, his tiny hands clamped tightly over his ears as he screamed in absolute, horrific panic.
Ruby scooped the trembling child into her soft, protective arms, pressing his face deeply into her chest to muffle the terrifying sounds of the war.
"I’ve got you, my sweet baby, I’ve got you," Ruby chanted repeatedly, running toward the hidden bookshelf panel Vincent had shown her weeks ago.
It was a highly classified, reinforced titanium panic room designed to withstand heavy explosives and sustained arms fire.
She punched the emergency code into the keypad with violently shaking fingers, grabbing a heavy bronze lamp from the dresser to use as a pathetic weapon.
The heavy steel door hissed open just as a Falcone mercenary kicked the nursery door entirely off its hinges.
The brutal man raised his weapon, aiming directly at the terrifyingly vulnerable woman holding the heir to the Romano empire.
Ruby did not scream, and she did not beg for mercy.
She threw the heavy bronze lamp directly at the man's face with all the desperate, protective strength she possessed, striking him squarely in the jaw.
The mercenary stumbled backward, his gun firing wildly into the ceiling as Ruby threw herself and the child into the panic room.
She slammed her hand against the locking mechanism, the heavy titanium door sliding completely shut just a fraction of a second before a bullet ricocheted off the exterior frame.
Inside the dark, quiet bunker, the heavy, muffled sounds of the battle above felt like distant thunder.
Ruby sat on the cold steel floor, rocking the crying toddler back and forth, bleeding slightly from a deep scratch on her arm where a stray piece of glass had caught her.
She did not care about the pain, the blood, or the absolute darkness of the room.
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She only cared that the little boy was completely, entirely safe in her arms.
Now, she just had to pray to God that the man she loved survived the fiery, violent hell storm raging outside the steel door.
