Chapter 13 - THE GUARDIAN BEAST|
"Don't move, lady," the lead mercenary growled, reaching out a heavy gloved hand toward Sophia.
Before his fingers could touch the child, a deep, terrifying roar echoed through the hall.
Zeus launched himself from the top of the stairs like a black missile.
The hundred-and-twenty-pound Cane Corso collided with the lead mercenary, slamming him backward into the marble floor with bone-crushing impact. Zeus's jaws clamped around the man's tactical vest, shaking him violently.
"Get this beast off me!" the man screamed in absolute terror.
The other mercenaries panicked, turning their weapons toward the dog, but Lev opened fire from the upper balcony, taking down two of the attackers in quick succession.
"Sophia, go!" Rosa screamed, grabbing her daughter's hand and running toward the library's hidden panel.
Inside the library, the heavy iron panel slid open. Rosa shoved Sophia inside the reinforced vault just as another blast shook the house.
"Mommy, come in!" Sophia wept, holding the heavy door open.
Rosa looked back toward the hallway. Zeus was standing guard at the threshold of the library, blood dripping from his scarred chest, his eyes fixed on two remaining gunmen entering through the dining room.
"Stay in the vault, Sophia!" Rosa commanded.
Instead of hiding, Rosa grabbed a heavy brass candelabra from the study desk, stepped out behind the nearest gunman, and swung it with all her strength, crashing it against the side of his helmet.
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The man stumbled, dropping his weapon. Zeus lunged forward, taking down the final mercenary before he could recover.
Silence fell over the ruined library, broken only by the heavy panting of the injured dog.
