Chapter 14 - The Lioness
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The gunfire lasted for exactly three minutes before police sirens wailed in the distance. The Romano hitmen, realizing they had lost the element of surprise, scrambled back into their van and sped off, leaving two of their own dead on the grass.
Silence fell over the park, broken only by the sound of Sam and Ben crying.
“Mrs. Costa!” Silvio, Arthur’s right-hand man, sprinted toward the jungle gym, his gun still drawn. “Are you hit? Are the boys okay?”
Nora slowly uncurled her body from over the twins. She looked down at them, checking their arms and legs. Not a single scratch.
“They’re safe,” Nora gasped, her voice shaking.
She tried to stand up, but her legs gave out. Silvio caught her, and that was when he saw the blood soaking through the sleeve of her cream-colored sweater.
A bullet had grazed her bicep.
“You’re bleeding,” Silvio said, his face paling.
“I’m fine. Get the boys in the armored car. Now.”
Ten minutes later, the SUV tore through the gates of the Costa estate. Arthur was already waiting on the front steps, flanked by a dozen heavily armed men. He looked like a man ready to burn the world to the ground.
The moment the car doors opened, Sam and Ben ran into their father’s arms. Arthur held them tight, his eyes frantically scanning them for injuries.
Then, he saw Nora step out of the car, clutching her bloody arm.
Arthur handed the boys to Mrs. Gable and marched toward Nora. He didn’t say a word. He scooped her up in his massive arms, carrying her effortlessly into the house.
“Arthur, put me down, I can walk,” Nora protested weakly.
“Shut up,” he growled, his jaw tight.
He carried her straight to the medical wing of the house, laying her gently on the examination table. The estate doctor rushed in, quickly cleaning and stitching the graze.
Arthur stood in the corner the entire time, his hands balled into fists, watching her blood stain the white sheets.
When the doctor finally left, Arthur walked over to the bed. He dropped to his knees beside her, resting his forehead against her uninjured hand.
“You took a bullet for them,” he whispered, his voice cracking.
May you like
“They are my sons,” Nora said simply.
Arthur looked up, his dark eyes shining with an emotion Nora had never seen before. It wasn’t calculation. It was absolute, undeniable devotion.
