27. Dominic
Dominic
“Get down,” I hiss, pushing Cassandra behind me. I reach into my jacket and pull my gun from a holster in my waistband.
To my left, Marco, Leo, and Lucas follow suit, as do multiple of my men throughout the room. In the front row, my father and Jonathon take position, guns aimed at the back doors where the sound emanates.
In the corner of the room, my good friend, Victor Cortez, and his associates prepare to fight, along with a few of our other allies.
Through the gasps and screams, I hear Cassandra’s mother as she tugs on her ex-husband’s sleeve. “Jonathon, what’s going on?”
He shushes her and pushes her down by her shoulder.
I’m about to do the same to my wife, who, of course, didn’t listen to my first command.
“Give me a gun,” Cassandra says.
I scoff and side-eye her. “No.”
“Yes.” Her shoulders set as she places her hand out, palm up, waiting for a weapon.
A growl emanates from deep in my chest. I should fight for her, get her out of danger. But God knows she’ll find a way to put herself back in it. I might as well give her a way to defend herself.
“My right ankle. There’s a holster with a Glock.”
She kneels and lifts my pant leg, making quick work of retrieving the gun. She remains crouched as she lifts the weapon and aims it down the aisle.
“Dominic,” Leo says, switching places with Marco. “We’ve got to get you out of here.” The enemy fire is getting closer, despite my soldiers guarding the hallway, fighting back.
Cassandra spares a glance in Leo’s direction. “We need to get the guests out of here.”
Leo’s eyes lock in on Natalie, who is crouched down in a back corner, horror-stricken.
“How?” Leo asks. For once, he turns to me for advice.
I scan the room, then nod toward a set of double glass doors to the left. They lead to a rooftop veranda decorated with foliage and water features.
“There’s an emergency exit across the patio with a stairwell that leads to the bottom floor.”
“Anatoliy and Esteban could have men coming that way,” Leo says, brows drawn.
I shake my head. “They would have made it to us already.”
A bullet cracks the wood on the back door. From inside the event space, my men surround the entrance, forming a defensive wall while our allies take the perimeter of the room.
“You and Lucas go first, check and see if it’s safe,” I say. “If it is, we’ll send the guests down that way.”
Leo takes one last look at Natalie and sighs in acceptance. “Lucas, did you hear him?”
“I’m ready when you are.” Lucas steps forward, inching toward the glass wall.
Leo nods, his expression resolute. “Let’s go.”
As the two men rush off, Natalie and Sadie cry out. Cassandra does her best to placate them, motioning for them to lower their voices, and mouths, “It’s okay.”
From the crowd, my father, Jonathon, and Nico run toward us, quickly turning so as not to have their backs to the looming threat.
“Where the hell did they go?” Nico asks, taking a spot next to Marco.
“There’s a stairwell on the other side of the veranda,” I explain. “If it’s clear, we’re sending the guests that way.”
“What about the two of you?” Jonathon grunts. “Cassandra has to get out of here, and unfortunately, I think you’re the best one to keep her safe.”
Cassandra huffs and sends her father a disgruntled look. “I can fight, too,” she mumbles.
“Yeah, we know.” I roll my eyes. “But you shouldn’t have to.”
“I can get the guests in the reception area downstairs,” my father says. “I talked to Dante, and he said the security team is only reporting an attack on this floor.”
“So far.” My mouth sets in a grim line.
“The stairwell is clear,” Lucas calls from the double doors.
“I’ll go with them,” my father says. “I can run operations down there and get the guests outside if needed.”
I nod and motion with the barrel of my gun, telling him to go.
“All right, everyone.” My father stands in the middle of the altar, before Cassandra and me. “We are going to evacuate. Quickly. There is a stairwell connected to the outside veranda. Follow me in an orderly fashion.”
Chaos erupts as the guests rush toward the exit, my father leading them to safety. My mother and Natalie jump into action, working to organize the mob.
From my periphery, I see Sadie scoot to Cassandra’s side and grab her arm.
“You have to come with us,” she begs.
“I have to stay here,” Cassandra counters. “Through thick or thin. In good times or bad.”
A tear trails down Sadie’s cheek as she throws her arms around Cassandra’s neck. “I love you. You’d better get out of this alive.”
“She will,” Jonathon and I say in unison.
At Natalie’s call from across the room, Sadie stands, lifts the front of her long dress, and runs out the door.
My mother blows Marco and me a kiss. “Keep us safe, boys. I believe in you.”
With that, the guests are gone.
Tension fills the room as the gunfire outside slows.
I can’t tell if that’s good or bad.
One side was defeated. There is no way to know if it was ours or theirs.
“Dominic, you’ve got to get out of here,” Nico says, lining up his sights. “If the Bratva-cartel assholes get in here, they’re coming after you.”
“We can’t go downstairs with everyone else.” Cassandra shifts, still kneeling. “We’ll put our family and friends in danger.”
“Does that stairwell lead to other levels of the hotel?”
“Yes.” I grip the handle of my gun, preparing to shoot. The pit in my stomach tells me this battle isn’t done. “We can go to any floor.”
“Then pick one and run.”
There’s a moment of silence.
Our eyes are trained on the back door. If my soldiers were winning, we’d have a sign by now.
At this moment, I know.
We’re in a fight for our lives.
With my gun pointed toward the back doors, staccato breaths, and a rapid pulse, I make the decision.
“Fuck.” I reach down and grab Cassandra’s wrist. “We’ve got to go.”
I pull her to her feet and move her away from the altar.
We’re out the glass doors and sprinting across the veranda when my gut twists, and she squeezes my hand so tight my knuckles pinch.
Judging by the gunfire that’s broken out in the ballroom, our side is not ahead.