Chương 13 - Blood in the Snow
The sound of the boy's name hung in the freezing air, sharp as broken glass.
Elias didn't hesitate. He reached into his tactical harness, pulled out two flashbang grenades, and looked at Marco across the tree line. Marco signaled with three fingers, then disappeared into the shadows toward the rear kitchen entrance.
"Stay here," Elias commanded Saraphina, his hand clamping over her shoulder. "I mean it. If things go wrong, run to the dock. There's a speedboat under the tarp."
"I am not leaving Leo," Saraphina said, her voice shaking with lethal conviction. "And you need a distraction. That man on the balcony knows who I am. He wants the Moretti key. Let him see me."
"No!" Elias snarled. "I won't trade you for my son."
"You aren't trading me," she said, pulling free from his grip. "We're ambushing them."
Before Elias could grab her, Saraphina stepped out from behind the stone wall. The open courtyard gravel crunched beneath her boots. She threw her hands out slightly, the heavy gold Moretti crest swinging openly against her sweater.
"I’m here!" she shouted into the fog, her voice ringing clear and authoritative across the grounds. "Tell Sterling’s dogs to stand down!"
From the balcony, the silhouette leaned over the railing. It was a man in an immaculate charcoal overcoat, his silver hair slicked back against his skull. He held a silver-tipped walking stick in one hand and a remote detonator in the other.
"Ah, the lost princess," the man called out with a chuckle. "Saraphina Moretti. You have caused an extraordinary amount of financial distress across three continents, my dear."
"Who the hell are you?" she demanded, taking slow, calculated steps toward the front stairs, buying every second Elias needed to flank the right side.
"I am Christian Ward," the man replied smoothly. "Chief Executor of the Sterling Trust. Your late father owed us an astronomical sum before his unfortunate… demise. And your brother was far too stubborn to pay the interest."
"And the boy has nothing to do with debts!" Saraphina spat.
"The boy is leverage against Elias Kingston," Ward sneered. "A man who thinks he can operate outside the Council's jurisdiction. But seeing you both here saves me a flight to Zurich's international terminal."
Ward raised his hand to signal his snipers.
At that exact fraction of a second, two things happened simultaneously.
A sniper's laser dot painted Saraphina's chest—and Elias broke through the treeline like an unchained beast.
*CRACK!*
Marco's suppressed rifle fired from the roofline, dropping the sniper hidden in the attic vent.
Elias fired three rapid rounds through the balcony floorboards. Ward stumbled back with a curse as wood splinters exploded into his face.
"Move!" Elias roared, lunging across the gravel, his massive body slamming into Saraphina, tackling her behind the heavy stone balustrade of the front steps just as a hail of automatic gunfire tore through the space where she had been standing.
Bullets chewed through marble, raining chips of rock over their heads. Elias held her down, his broad chest shielding her entire body, his breath ragged against her ear.
"You're completely out of your mind," he growled, smoke pouring from his barrel.
"Did it work?" she whispered, panting, her hands clutching his tactical vest.
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"He’s retreating inside," Elias muttered, reloading with one fluid, violent motion. "Now we take the house."
***
