Chapter 16 - The Lioness Awakens
Adrenaline, pure and unadulterated, violently hijacked my nervous system. I was not going to let these monsters touch my children.
As the first Moretti soldier dropped down the ladder into the panic room, I didn't hesitate. I swung the heavy iron fireplace poker with every ounce of strength in my body, striking the man square in the jaw. He crumpled instantly, his rifle clattering against the concrete floor.
I dropped the poker, snatching the heavy assault rifle from his unconscious hands with a desperate, terrifying efficiency. I had never fired a weapon in my life, but Damian had spent hours teaching me how to disengage the safety and brace for the recoil.
"Get back!" I screamed, pointing the barrel up toward the hatch just as the second man began his descent.
I squeezed the trigger, the deafening roar of the gunfire completely blowing out my eardrums in the confined space. The man yelled in pain, scrambling backward out of the hatch to avoid the spray of bullets.
I stood at the base of the ladder, my arms aching from the massive recoil, shielding my crying children with my own body. I was completely trapped, but I had created a violent bottleneck. They couldn't get down without facing my weapon.
"You're making a mistake, Mrs. Caruso!" a cruel voice echoed down from the house above. It was Silas.
The traitor was standing in my living room, orchestrating the kidnapping of my family. "Put the gun down, and nobody gets hurt. Victor just wants an insurance policy to make Damian surrender his territories!"
My blood boiled with a rage so profound it completely erased my fear. "If you come down here, Silas, I swear to God I will empty this entire magazine into your chest!" I roared back, my voice echoing off the concrete walls like a cornered lioness.
Suddenly, the sound of a massive, violent collision echoed from the driveway above, followed instantly by the staccato rhythm of suppressive gunfire. Damian had arrived.
The radio crackled with his furious commands as his men breached the house. I heard Silas shout in panic, followed by the heavy thud of bodies hitting the marble floors above.
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I kept my rifle aimed directly at the hatch, completely unblinking, until a familiar, blood-soaked face appeared in the opening.
Damian looked down at me, his eyes widening in absolute shock as he saw his wife holding an assault rifle over an unconscious mercenary. "It's safe, Elara," he breathed, dropping down into the bunker and pulling all three of us into a crushing, desperate embrace.
