Chapter 17 - Blood on the Grass
|
Nero struck the gunman like a freight train.
The wolfdog had broken out of the house during the initial explosion. He didn't run away. He ran toward the danger. He ran toward Hannah.
Nero's eighty pounds of muscle and teeth slammed into the attacker's chest, knocking the man backward onto the tile floor. The rifle clattered away uselessly as the wolfdog clamped his massive jaws onto the man's forearm with a bone-crushing crunch.
The gunman screamed in agony, thrashing wildly.
Lorenzo didn't waste the opportunity. He fired twice, neutralizing the remaining attackers in the kitchen.
"Nero! Release!" Hannah commanded, stepping out from behind the island.
The wolfdog immediately let go of the unconscious man, bounding over to Hannah and pressing his blood-spattered snout into her stomach, whining anxiously to check if she was hurt.
"Good boy," Hannah sobbed, throwing her arms around his thick neck. "Good boy."
Lorenzo pushed himself up from the floor, clutching his bleeding shoulder. He looked at the massive beast, then at the woman holding him, his eyes filled with profound, overwhelming awe.
"Come on," Lorenzo gritted out, his face pale. "The garden panic room is closest."
They ran out the shattered patio doors and into the chaotic garden. Smoke billowed from the burning east wing.
Two more gunmen spotted them running across the lawn. They raised their weapons, but Lorenzo was faster. Despite his bleeding shoulder, his aim was flawless. He took them both down before they could fire a single shot.
Lorenzo threw open the hidden steel door of the garden bunker, shoving Hannah and Nero inside before sealing the heavy vault behind them.
The bunker was silent, the thick steel walls cutting off the sounds of the war raging above them.
Hannah immediately rushed to Lorenzo, ripping a piece of fabric from her torn dress to press against the bullet wound in his shoulder.
"I'm fine," Lorenzo said gruffly, trying to push her hands away. "It went clean through."
"Shut up and let me help you," Hannah snapped, her hands trembling as she tied the makeshift bandage tightly.
May you like
Lorenzo stopped fighting her. He looked down at her worried, tear-streaked face, and the fierce, maternal way she commanded him.
"You are spectacular," Lorenzo whispered, raising his good hand to cup her cheek, smearing a bit of blood on her skin. "I am absolutely entirely obsessed with you."
