Chapter 8 - The Siege in the Woods
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"Get down!" Elina screamed, grabbing Mia and diving behind the heavy oak kitchen island just as the massive front windows shattered inward.
A hail of suppressed automatic gunfire tore through the living room, shredding the expensive furniture and tearing the artwork from the walls. The Russians had found them. Vincenzo must have leaked the coordinates before his death, or they had tracked Dante’s vehicles.
Nina dropped to the floor in the bedroom, shielding Matteo’s body with her own.
"They're coming through the front!" one of the two guards stationed inside the house yelled, returning fire with his assault rifle.
The front door was blown off its hinges by a breaching charge. Dust and smoke filled the cabin.
Elina covered Mia’s ears, tears streaming down her face as the deafening sound of war erupted in their sanctuary. She had spent her life scrubbing floors, trying to keep her daughter safe from the violent world of the slums, only to drag her directly into a mafia shootout.
The two inside guards fought bravely, dropping three Russian mercenaries in the doorway, but they were vastly outnumbered. A heavily armored Russian soldier stepped over the bodies, raising his shotgun and blasting one of the guards through the chest.
"Check the bedrooms! Find the brother!" the Russian leader shouted in heavily accented English.
Elina’s maternal instincts overrode her absolute terror. She grabbed a heavy, iron cast frying pan from the lower kitchen cabinet.
A mercenary rounded the kitchen island, his rifle raised, scanning the shadows. He didn't see the maid hiding on the floor.
Elina swung the cast iron pan with every ounce of strength she possessed, smashing it directly into the mercenary's kneecap. The man screamed, his leg buckling instantly. As he collapsed, Elina scrambled forward, grabbing his fallen sidearm. She had never fired a gun in her life, but she aimed it at his chest and pulled the trigger.
The loud crack made her ears ring. The mercenary fell dead.
Elina dropped the gun, her hands shaking violently, pulling a sobbing Mia tightly against her chest.
Before the other Russians could converge on the kitchen, the deafening roar of heavy engines echoed from the dirt road outside.
Dante had arrived.
He didn't come alone. Five armored SUVs crashed through the tree line, illuminating the cabin with blinding high beams. Dante’s elite tactical squad poured out of the vehicles, unleashing a devastating wave of crossfire upon the Russian attackers.
Dante didn't wait for the perimeter to be secured. He burst through the ruined front door, a heavy assault rifle in his hands, looking like the absolute devil himself. He gunned down the remaining two mercenaries in the living room with terrifying, ruthless precision.
"Elina!" Dante roared over the smoke.
"We're here!" she cried out from behind the island.
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Dante dropped his rifle on its sling and rushed over, dropping to his knees. He didn't care about the blood or the broken glass. He pulled both Elina and Mia into his massive arms, crushing them against his chest.
"I've got you," Dante breathed, burying his face in Elina’s hair. "I'm so sorry. I've got you."
