Chapter 14 - The Sky Sanctuary
|
The rhythmic, deafening thwip-thwip-thwip of the helicopter blades was the most beautiful sound Elina had ever heard.
They burst into the clearing just as the black, unmarked helicopter touched down, kicking up a massive cloud of snow and pine needles. Lorenzo’s men shoved the stretcher into the back cabin, hauling Elina, Mia, and Nina in right behind it.
"Go! Go! Go!" Lorenzo screamed at the pilot, diving in as bullets sparked against the reinforced landing skids.
The chopper violently banked upward, ascending into the dark, cloudy sky, leaving Carmine’s hit squad stranded in the forest below.
Elina collapsed onto the metal floor of the cabin, clutching her sobbing daughter, completely exhausted. Nina was frantically checking Matteo, who had passed out from the exertion, but his pulse was steady.
"Where are we going?" Elina yelled over the engine noise, looking at Lorenzo.
"To the one place Carmine can't reach," Lorenzo yelled back. "The Tower."
An hour later, the helicopter touched down on the private helipad of a massive, shimmering glass skyscraper in the heart of Manhattan. It was the heavily fortified headquarters of the Moretti financial empire, a building so secure it rivaled federal reserve banks.
Dante was waiting on the roof, surrounded by a dozen heavily armed men.
He didn't wait for the rotors to stop. He rushed to the helicopter, his face pale with absolute terror until he saw Elina step out with Mia.
Dante pulled them both into a crushing, desperate embrace, burying his face in Elina’s neck. "You're alive. Thank God, you're alive."
"Matteo saved us," Elina breathed, leaning into his solid, warm chest. "He shot three of them. He saved us, Dante."
Dante looked into the cabin as the medics unloaded his unconscious brother. A fierce, proud smile touched his lips.
"The king is back," Dante murmured.
He turned to his men. "Secure the building. No one enters without my direct authorization. If Carmine wants to finish this, he has to come to me."
They descended into the penthouse command center. The entire top floor was a luxurious, high-tech fortress.
Dante poured Elina a glass of water, his hands shaking slightly as he handed it to her. "Carmine knows Matteo is alive now. The masquerade is over. He’s going to call the Commission and brand me a traitor for hiding the truth."
"Let him," a raspy voice echoed from the medical suite doorway.
May you like
Matteo stood there, leaning heavily on Nina’s shoulder, looking pale but remarkably lucid.
"Let him call the Commission," Matteo smirked, a dangerous, calculating light in his eyes. "Because when the heads of the Five Families gather in one room... we are going to walk in and take my throne back."
