Chapter 19
Cassian
The building was dying around us.
I held Leo against my chest with one arm, my other wrapped around Isla's shoulders, guiding them through smoke and chaos.
"Stay close," I said, keeping my voice calm. "Don't let go of me."
Leo's face was buried in my neck, trembling. He'd stopped crying when I found him, had simply reached for me with complete trust.
Marco's voice crackled through my earpiece. "Boss, the south wing is clear. Path to the vehicles."
"Copy." I kicked open the emergency exit. "Down. Fast but careful."
We'd descended one flight when I heard footsteps above us.
"Cassian!" Matteo's voice echoed down the stairwell. "You think you can just walk away?"
I stopped, positioning myself between him and my family. "Isla, keep going. Don't stop until you reach Marco."
"Cassian—"
"Now." I transferred Leo to her arms. "Get him out."
She went, half-running with our son. I turned back.
Matteo stood one flight above, disheveled and wild-eyed, gun loose in his hand. Blood stained his shoulder.
"You destroyed everything," he said, voice rough with rage.
"You took my family." I kept my gun trained on his chest. "What did you expect?"
"We're family, Cassian. Blood."
"You forfeited that right when you kidnapped a two-and-a-half-year-old."
Matteo's hand twitched toward his gun. I moved faster.
I closed the distance in two strides, my hand clamping around his wrist before he could raise the weapon.
A sharp twist, and his gun clattered onto the floor.
He swung at me with his free hand. I caught it, spun him, and locked my forearm across his throat.
"You're done," I said quietly in his ear. "Walk away. Disappear. That's the only mercy you're getting."
He struggled, gasping. "This… isn't… over—"
"Yes, it is. Marco has evidence of everything. The families will know that you threatened a child. You're finished." I stared at him. "You need to disappear. Because if I ever see you again, I won't show mercy twice."
I tightened my grip until his struggles weakened, then released him. He collapsed against the wall, coughing, defeated.
I retrieved his gun and ejected the magazine, tossing both in opposite directions.
Then I heard it—Leo's voice. "Cass'an? Cass, where are you?"
Small footsteps on metal stairs.
I released Matteo, letting him collapse. "Isla! Keep him back!"
Too late. Leo appeared around the corner, Isla right behind him, her face panicked.
My son looked at me—at Matteo slumped against the wall, gasping for air. At the gun still in my hand.
"Bad man," Leo said, pointing. "Took Mama."
"I know. I holstered my weapon and moved toward them. But it's over now. He can't hurt anyone anymore."
"You hurt him?"
I looked at Isla. She stood frozen, watching me. Waiting.
I crouched down to his level. "I stopped him. That's different."
Leo studied my face, processing. Then his small arms reached for me. "Up."
I scooped him up, and he buried his face in my neck.
As I started down the stairs, Matteo's cries followed me. I didn’t look back at him.
"Let's go home," I said to Isla.
We moved fast down the stairs, my arm around both of them. The building groaned around us, another explosion shaking the walls. Dust and debris rained down.
"Exit's this way," my tactical escort called, weapon raised, clearing the path ahead.
We burst through the emergency exit into the night. Cold air hit my lungs, sharp and clean after the smoke. The warehouse behind us burned, flames licking through broken windows, black smoke billowing into the Brooklyn sky.
Dmitri's team was everywhere—securing the perimeter, weapons trained on the building, ready for any of Matteo's men who might try to follow.
"Boss!" Marco appeared from behind one of the SUVs, relief flooding his face. "You got them."
"Where's the exfil route?"
"Two vehicles. You take the lead SUV with your family. I've got the rear." He glanced at the burning warehouse. "Police are three minutes out. Fire department is right behind them. We need to move."
I carried Leo to the black SUV, Isla close behind me. As I opened the door, sirens wailed in the distance, growing closer.
"Go," I told the driver. "Fast but not suspicious."
The SUV pulled away from the curb. Through the rear window, I watched the warehouse collapse in on itself, a pillar of fire and smoke rising into the night.
Matteo was in there somewhere. Maybe alive, maybe not. I didn't care.
I had what mattered.
"Cassian?" Isla's voice was shaky. "Is it really over?"
I looked at her—dirt-streaked, exhausted, traumatized. Then, at Leo, who'd already gone limp against my chest, tiny fingers clutching my tactical vest.
"It's over," I said quietly. "You're both safe now."
She leaned against me, and I wrapped my free arm around her shoulders, pulling them both close.
The driver navigated through Brooklyn's streets, taking side roads, avoiding main arteries. Behind us, Marco's SUV followed at a careful distance.
My earpiece crackled. "Boss, police have the scene. Fire's spreading to adjacent buildings. They're evacuating the block.
"Casualties?"
"Matteo's people. Twelve down, three critical. Our team had two wounded, both stable. Dmitri lost two. That's it."
I closed my eyes. Two of Dmitri's men are dead. For my family.
"Make sure their families are taken care of," I said quietly. "Triple the standard death benefit. And personal calls from me."
"Already arranged."
Twenty minutes later, we pulled into the Morrison building's underground garage. The driver took us directly to the private elevator.
When we reached the penthouse, Isla carried him to his room. I watched as she tucked him in, singing softly until his breathing deepened.
Then she moved past me to the living room windows, arms wrapped around herself.
"He saw you," she said. "Saw what you did."
"I know."
"He asked if you were going to hurt that man more. Like violence was normal." Her voice broke. "He's two and a half years old."
"I didn't kill Matteo. I could have. But I didn't."
"Because Leo was there."
"Yes. But I made a choice."
She turned, tears streaming. "What kind of life is this?"
"The kind where he's alive. Where you're both safe." I closed the distance. "I can't promise you normal. But I promise I will always protect you both."
She searched my face. "He called you Cass. When he was looking for you."
"I noticed."
"He loves you." Fresh tears spilled. "My son loves you, and I don't know if that terrifies me or gives me hope."
I pulled her into my arms. She collapsed against my chest, sobbing.
"I'm sorry," I murmured. "I'm sorry you were taken. Sorry that Leo was scared."
She pulled back slightly, looking up at me with red-rimmed eyes. "I don't know if it's your fault or not. Part of me wants to blame you—you brought us into this world, made us targets. But—" She wiped at her tears. "Matteo made the choice to take us. He made the choice to hurt a child."
"I should have protected you better."
"You came for us." Her voice cracked. "When I was in that room, in the dark, all I could think was, please let Cassian find us.
I was terrified and angry, and I hated you for making us targets, but I also—" She pressed her forehead against my chest. "I also knew you'd come.
That you wouldn't stop until you found us. "
"Never," I said fiercely. "I would burn the world down to get you back."
"I know." She was quiet for a long moment. "I think that's what scares me most. Not that you're dangerous—but that I'm starting to believe that's what love looks like in your world."
I pulled her closer. "You don't have to decide anything tonight. You don't have to forgive me or understand or make sense of this. You just survived something terrible. You're allowed to feel whatever you feel."
She nodded against my chest, her tears soaking through my shirt.
We stood there in the darkness, holding each other, neither of us with answers.
"I can't think about tomorrow," she whispered. "Or next week, or what happens next. I can't think about staying or leaving or what any of this means."
"You don't have to."
"I just—" Her voice broke. "I just need to sleep. I need to lie down and know Leo is safe and that no one can get to us tonight. Can you promise me that? Just tonight?"
"Yes." I cupped her face gently. "Tonight, tomorrow, every night after. You're both safe here."
She pulled away, wiping at her face. "I need to check on Leo again. And then I need to—" She trailed off, looking lost.
"Sleep," I finished. "You need to sleep."
"Will you—" She hesitated. "Will you stay close? In case Leo wakes up scared?"
"I'm not going anywhere."
She nodded and moved toward Leo's room. I watched her go, understanding what she was really asking—not for me to stay for Leo, but for herself. Because even though she was angry and confused and traumatized, she felt safer with me near.
Tomorrow, we'd deal with the questions. With the blame and the fear and the impossible choices.
Tonight, we'd just survive.
An hour later, I stood outside her bedroom door. It was closed.
I raised my hand to knock, then stopped. She'd been through hell. She probably wanted space—
The door opened. Isla stood there in one of my shirts, hair damp from the shower.
"I heard you pacing," she said quietly. "Were you going to knock or just stand there?"
"I didn't want to disturb you."
"I can't sleep." She stepped back, an invitation. "Can you?"
I entered, closing the door. The city lights filtered through the windows.
"Every time I close my eyes," she said, sitting on the bed's edge, "I'm back in that room. Wondering if I'd ever see Leo again. If I'd ever see you."
I knelt before her. "I'm here. You're both safe."
"I know." Her hand touched my face, tracing the cut above my eyebrow. "You came for us."
"Did you doubt I would?"
"When they took Leo, I thought about never seeing you again. Never telling you—" Her voice broke.
"Telling me what?"