Chapter 6 - The Midnight Raid
Carlo didn't explain.
He drew a concealed pistol from his waist and fired twice toward the ceiling as three of his personal bodyguards rushed into the dining room through the side service doors, weapons raised.
Muzzle flashes erupted in the grand hall like blinding thunderbolts.
"Get down!" Dante roared, throwing his heavy frame over me, slamming us both to the floor behind the solid mahogany dining table as bullets ripped through the velvet drapes and shattered the oak paneling overhead.
Titan snarled, staying low beside my legs, his dark body trembling with protective fury.
"Vance! Clear the exits!" Dante commanded, pulling a sleek dark Sig Sauer from his shoulder holster. He looked down at me, his body pinning mine against the cold marble, his dark eyes searching my face for any sign of blood. "Are you hurt, Rosie?"
"I'm fine!" I yelled over the deafening pops of gunfire, my good ear ringing violently. "My brother—"
"Your brother is five miles away, surrounded by six of my best men!" Dante barked, firing three rapid shots over the edge of the table. A heavy thud sounded across the room as one of Carlo’s men hit the floor. "You stay behind me!"
Through the smoke and chaos, I saw Carlo sprinting out the rear patio doors into the pouring rain, accompanied by two armed enforcers.
"He's going for the south gate!" Vance yelled from behind a marble pillar, reloading his firearm. "He's got a getaway driver waiting on the service road!"
Dante cursed, his jaw set in a terrifying mask of rage. He began to push himself up, but a stray bullet clipped his left shoulder, ripping through his suit jacket.
Dante grunted, stumbling back against the table, blood instantly seeping through his white silk shirt.
"Dante!" I gasped, grabbing his arm.
"It's just a graze," he gritted out, his teeth bared in pain.
"It hit the subclavian branch—you're bleeding too fast!" I said, my vet tech instincts taking over instantly. I reached up, grabbed the heavy velvet tablecloth, and tore a long strip of fabric with my bare hands, pressing it hard against his shoulder wound. "Apply pressure!"
Dante stared at me through the smoke, his dark eyes burning with an intense, raw emotion I couldn't name. Here we were, surrounded by gunfire, blood, and broken glass, and I was treating him like just another wounded patient.
"Titan," I whispered, turning to the dog. I pointed my finger toward the open patio doors where Carlo had fled into the rain.
I gave Titan the hand signal for Hunt.
Titan didn't hesitate. He let out a deep, terrifying bay and sprinted out into the dark storm like a black missile.
"Rosie, no!" Dante shouted, trying to reach for me.
"He knows the grounds better than your men do!" I said, grabbing Dante's good arm and helping him stand up. "And he knows who hurt him!"
Dante looked down at me, his hand coming up to cup the back of my neck, his thumb pressing firmly against my jawline.
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"If anything happens to that dog, or to you," Dante growled softly, his face inches from mine, "I will burn this city to the ground."
"Then let's go finish this," I whispered back.
