Chapter 18
DANTE
I’m already awake, going through security reports in my office when the alarm system screams to life. Six red dots appear on my monitor, moving fast across the perimeter.
I quickly grab my gun from the desk drawer and hit the panic button that locks down the residential wing. Scarlett and Luca are still sleeping two floors up, and they need to stay there behind reinforced steel doors until this is over.
My phone rings. Marco.
“Hostiles armed with automatic weapons. They breached the east wall.”
“Where’s the household?”
“Locked down. Rosa’s with the boy and his mother.”
Good. “Defensive positions. Lethal force authorized.”
I’m moving before I finish speaking, taking the stairs down to ground level where my security team is already mobilizing. Viktor meets me in the hallway, already armed and wearing ammunition gear.
“They’re professionals,” he says. “Maybe even more than military training. This isn’t the families sending thugs.”
“I know.”
We reach the security room where monitors show my men engaging the attackers across the grounds. Muzzle flashes light up the darkness like fireflies. The sound of gunfire is constant now, overlapping bursts that echo through the estate.
One of my guards goes down. Then another.
These aren’t amateurs. They’re moving in coordinated teams, using cover effectively, and advancing with intelligence that speaks to serious training.
“East team, fall back to secondary positions,” I order into the radio. “Draw them into the kill zone.”
On the monitors, I watch my men retreat in controlled fashion, leading the attackers exactly where I want them. Into the open courtyard where they’ll have no cover and my snipers will have clear shots.
It works. Three attackers go down in rapid succession as my rooftop team opens fire.
But the other three keep coming, and they’re heading straight for the main house. For Scarlett and Luca.
“Viktor, take command here. I’m going out.”
“Boss, you should stay—”
“I’m going out.”
I don’t wait for his response. I’m already moving, exiting through the side entrance that puts me in position to intercept the attackers before they reach the house.
The morning air is cold and smells like gunpowder. My breath comes out in white clouds as I move low and fast across the grounds, using the landscaping for cover.
I spot the first attacker twenty yards ahead, advancing on the house with his weapon raised.
I don’t hesitate. Two shots on the head and he drops.
The second attacker spins toward the sound but I’m already moving, changing position. He fires where I was, bullets tearing through expensive shrubbery, but I’m coming at him from the side now.
One shot to the forehead and he goes down hard like a sack of beans.
The third is smarter. He’s already taking cover behind the fountain, laying down suppressive fire that keeps me pinned behind a stone planter.
We’re at a stalemate. He can’t advance without exposing himself, and I can’t flank him without crossing open ground.
Then Marco’s voice crackles over the radio. “Boss, we’ve got a problem. One of them got close enough to plant something on the east wall of the main house.”
A bomb.
Ice floods through my veins. Scarlett and Luca are in that house.
“Disarm it. Now.”
“On it.”
I need to end this. Hell, I need to get back inside and make sure my family is safe.
I rise up and fire three quick shots at the fountain, forcing the attacker to duck. Then I’m sprinting across the open ground, closing the distance before he can recover.
He pops up to return fire, but I’m already on him. I slam into him full force, knocking his weapon aside, and we go down together in a tangle of limbs.
He’s good. Trained. He gets his hands on my gun and we struggle for control, rolling across the wet grass.
But I’m better, and I’m fighting to protect my son and his mother.
I get my hand around his throat and squeeze. He tries to break the hold, but I’m stronger and I’ve got leverage. His eyes go wide as his air cuts off.
I watch the light fade from his eyes as he dies and his body goes limp beneath me. Then I’m up and running for the house.
Marco’s already there when I arrive, crouched beside a small device attached to the exterior wall. His hands are steady as he works, but I can see the sweat on his forehead despite the cold.
“How long?”
“Ninety seconds. Maybe less.”
“Can you disarm it?”
“Working on it.”
I stand guard while he works, my gun trained on the grounds in case there are more attackers we missed. The estate is eerily quiet now except for the sound of Marco’s tools and my own heartbeat pounding in my ears.
Sixty seconds.
“Marco.”
“I know. Just need to…there.”
He pulls a wire and the timer stops with forty-three seconds remaining.
We both let out a breath.
“Get it off the wall and into the bomb disposal unit. Then sweep the entire perimeter for more devices.”
“Yes, boss.”
I head inside through the main entrance, my weapon still drawn. The house is silent and locked down tight, but I need to see them. Need to confirm with my own eyes that they’re safe.
I take the stairs two at a time to the residential wing. The reinforced door is still sealed, the red light indicating lockdown mode.
I enter my security code and the lock disengages with a heavy click.
Rosa is in the hallway, pale but composed, with a gun I didn’t know she had pointed at the door. She lowers it when she sees me.
“They’re in your room. The boy was frightened by the noise.”
I nod and move past her, heading for my bedroom.
I find them exactly where Rosa said. Scarlett is sitting on the floor with her back against the wall, Luca curled up in her lap. Her arms are wrapped around him protectively, and her eyes are fierce when they meet mine.
“Is it over?”
“It’s over. Everyone’s safe.”
But Luca doesn’t move from his mother’s arms. He’s staring at me with wide, terrified eyes that remind me too much of his mother, that night, in Antonio’s study.
“The bad men came, didn’t they?”
I crouch down to his level, making sure he can see my face. “Yeah, buddy. But they’re gone now. My men made sure they can’t hurt anyone.”
“Are they dead?”
The question is so blunt, so matter-of-fact, that it catches me off guard. He’s five years old and he’s already asking about death like it’s a normal thing. Because in this world, in my world, it is.
“Yes. They’re dead.”
Scarlett makes a small sound of distress, but Luca just nods like this makes sense to him.
“Good. They were trying to hurt Mama.”
“I won’t let anyone hurt your mama. Or you. That’s a promise.”
“But what if more come? What if they come when you’re not here?”
And there it is. The fear I’ve been trying to prevent. The knowledge that safety is an illusion and danger is always waiting.
“Then my men will protect you. Marco, Viktor, Rosa. All of them are here to keep you safe.”
“But what if—”
“No what ifs.” I reach out and ruffle his hair gently. “You’re safe here. This is the most protected place in the entire city. Nobody gets to you or your mama without going through me first. And trust me, buddy, nobody gets through me.”
He studies my face for a long moment then seems to accept this. He uncurls slightly from Scarlett’s arms.
“Can I go back to bed now? I’m tired.”
“Yeah. Go ahead.”
Scarlett carries him back to his room, and I hear her murmuring soft reassurances. When she comes back, her face is composed but I can see the fear underneath.
“How bad was it?”
“Bad enough. Six professionals, all military trained. This wasn’t a random attack.”
“Which family sent them?”
“I don’t know yet. But I’ll find out.”
She wraps her arms around herself. “This is because of me. Because you’re protecting me.”
“This is because someone wants the ledger and thinks we have it. Big difference.”
“Is there? Because from the look of things, my being here just painted a target on your home. On our son.”
“Our son is safer here than he would be anywhere else.”
“Is he? Because he just watched armed men attack his home. Because he had to hide in a locked room while people tried to kill us. That’s not safe, Dante. That’s traumatic.”
She’s right and I hate it. I hate that Luca had to experience that. Hate that this is the world he was born into. But the alternative is worse.
“If you weren’t here, if you were out there somewhere alone with him, they’d have found you already. And you’d both be dead. At least here, you have protection.”
“For how long? How many more attacks before someone gets through?”
“They won’t get through.”
“You can’t promise that.”
“Watch me.”
We stare at each other for a long moment, and I can see the wheels turning in her head. She’s thinking about leaving. About taking Luca and running again.
Not happening.
“Don’t,” I say quietly. “Don’t even think about it.”
“You don’t know what I’m thinking.”
“I know exactly what you’re thinking. And the answer is no. You’re not leaving. You’re not taking Luca and running. You’re staying here where I can protect you.”
“Maybe that’s not your choice to make.”
“It is absolutely my choice. You’re mine. He’s mine. And I don’t let go of what’s mine.”
Her eyes flash with anger. “We’re not possessions, Dante.”
“I never said you were. But you’re under my protection, and that means you stay where I can keep you safe.”
An hour later, I’m in the conference room with my inner circle. Viktor, Marco, and three of my senior lieutenants. The bodies of the attackers have been removed and the estate is being swept for additional threats.
“Preliminary identification on the attackers,” Marco says, sliding photos across the table. “Former Russian military. Spetsnaz training. Someone paid huge money for this hit because their services are not cheap.”
I study the photos. It’s mostly dead faces, professional equipment, coordinated assault. This was planned carefully and executed well. Almost well enough.
“The Volkov family,” Viktor says. “Has to be. They’re the only ones with connections to Russian military contractors.”
“Or someone wants us to think it’s the Volkovs.” I lean back in my chair. “Could be misdirection.”
“Either way, this was a declaration of war. They weren’t trying to capture or interrogate. They were trying to kill everyone in this house.”
The weight of that settles over the room. An assassination attempt on me is one thing. An attack that puts Scarlett and Luca in danger is something else entirely.
“We need to find the ledger,” Viktor continues. “Now. Before the families unite against us. If they think we’re hunting it for ourselves, they’ll come at us with everything they have.”
He’s right. The ledger is the key to ending this. But I’m not ready to reveal how much Scarlett has already remembered. Not yet. Not until I know who I can trust completely.
“We’re working on it. I have leads.”
“What kind of leads?”
“The kind I’m not sharing until they pan out.”
Viktor’s jaw tightens, but he doesn’t push. He knows better.
“In the meantime, we increase security. Double the guards. Bring in additional contractors if needed. I want this estate locked down so tight that a mouse couldn’t get through.”
“That’s going to draw attention. Show weakness.”
“I don’t care. My family’s safety comes first. Everything else is secondary.”
The word ‘family.’ I’ve never used it before in reference to anyone except my organization. But that’s what they are now. Scarlett and Luca—my family.
And I’ll burn this entire city down before I let anyone hurt them.