Chapter 10 - Blood in the Courtyard
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Luca didn't hesitate.
He shoved Elena and Nora violently behind the thick brick wall of the carriage house and stepped directly into the line of fire.
He raised his 9mm, his movements fluid and devastatingly precise. He fired three times in rapid succession. The loud cracks pierced the night.
The first assassin dropped instantly, a bullet tearing through his throat before he could pull the trigger. The second man managed to fire a wild burst, the bullets chewing into the brickwork inches from Luca’s head, showering him in red dust.
Luca didn't flinch. He stepped forward, firing twice more. The second assassin crumpled to the cobblestones, his rifle clattering uselessly away.
“Move!” Luca barked, grabbing Elena’s hand.
He dragged her through the shadows of the kitchen gardens, using the high, dense hedges as cover. Nora was crying silently now, her little hands gripping her mother’s shirt so hard her knuckles were white.
“We have to reach the east wing of the main house,” Luca explained quickly, keeping his gun raised as they navigated the labyrinth of the garden. “The safe room is hidden beneath my office.”
“They are everywhere, Luca,” Elena gasped, her breath catching as another explosion rocked the front gates. “We are slowing you down.”
“You are the only reason I am running,” Luca snapped back, pulling her tight against his side as they sprinted across an open patch of lawn.
They reached the heavy, reinforced side door of the east wing. Luca punched a code into the keypad with a bloody thumb. The heavy steel door hissed open, and he shoved them inside, locking it instantly behind them.
The mansion interior was dark, the emergency red lighting casting eerie shadows across the expensive artwork and marble floors.
Luca led them down a hidden corridor behind the library, stopping at a blank wood-paneled wall. He pressed his palm against a concealed scanner. The wall slid away, revealing a massive, vault-like steel door.
He pushed it open and guided Elena and Nora inside the brightly lit, heavily stocked bunker.
“Sit down,” Luca ordered, pointing to a couch.
Elena collapsed onto the cushions, holding Nora tight. She looked up at Luca. His crisp white shirt was splattered with blood from the men outside, his face a terrifying mask of pure, unleashed violence.
“Stay here,” Luca said, checking the magazine of his pistol. “The door locks from the inside. Do not open it for anyone but me.”
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“Where are you going?” Elena panicked, grabbing his sleeve.
“To finish this,” Luca said softly. He reached out and gently brushed a piece of glass from her hair. “I will be right back.”
