Chapter 6 - The Siege of Grayhaven House
The mansion plunged into sudden, suffocating darkness.
In the next instant, the piercing shriek of the emergency alarm tore through the silence, followed by the dull, rhythmic thud of muffled gunshots echoing from the ground floor.
“They’re here,” Damian said instantly, his demeanor shifting from tender protector to lethal apex predator in a fraction of a second. He pulled a heavy Beretta pistol from his shoulder holster, checking the magazine with practiced efficiency before sliding a second weapon into my hands.
“Mr. Volkov, I don’t know how to shoot!” I panicked, staring at the cold steel weapon.
“It’s simple. Point, pull the trigger, and don't hesitate,” Damian ordered sharply, grabbing Lila and sweeping her up into his left arm. The little girl didn't cry; she instinctively buried her face in his shoulder, her hands gripping his lapel as she felt the violent, heavy vibrations of the impending battle. “Stay behind me, Elena. Step where I step.”
The door to our suite blew inward with a deafening crash as a heavy wooden splintering echoed through the room.
Two masked men in tactical gear burst through the threshold, assault rifles raised.
Bang. Bang.
Damian didn't hesitate. Two shots rang out in rapid, deafening succession. Both intruders dropped instantly, lifeless bodies collapsing onto the plush carpet.
“Move!” Damian grabbed my wrist, pulling me out into the corridor.
The hallway was a war zone. Smoke drifted from the grand staircase. Several of Damian’s loyal guards were locked in a fierce firefight with Marcus’s renegade faction near the east wing balcony. Glass from shattered chandeliers littered the marble floor, crunching beneath our boots.
“Boss! They’ve breached the armory!” Victor yelled, firing a submachine gun from behind a marble pillar before ducking as a hail of bullets chipped stone from the wall above him. “Marcus is heading for the rooftop escape chopper!”
Damian’s jaw clenched so hard a muscle ticked in his cheek. “Not on my life.”
He pulled us toward the private service elevator—the only one bypassing the lockdown protocols. As we stepped inside, Lila suddenly stiffened in Damian’s arms. Her small hand reached out, grabbing Damian’s collar, and she rapidly signed into the air with frantic, terrified gestures: Up. Above us. Ceiling.
Damian didn't question her. Without missing a beat, he raised his Beretta and fired three rounds straight up through the steel ceiling panel of the elevator car.
A muffled scream echoed from above, followed by a heavy body crashing down onto the roof of the elevator with a sickening thud. A smoking flashbang grenade rolled off the edge, dropping down into the elevator shaft just as the doors sealed shut.
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BOOM!
The blast shook the cables violently, sending shockwaves through the cabin, but Damian threw his massive body over Lila and me, shielding us with his own flesh as sparks rained down like a deadly metallic storm.
