Chapter 7 - War in the Rain
Marcus dragged Maya out onto the wide, rain-slicked stone terrace, where a black helicopter hovered fifty feet above the courtyard, its searchlight cutting through the torrential downpour.
Marcus was drenched, his face bruised from the docks ambush, his eyes wide with a manic, unhinged insanity.
"You thought you could play princess with the big boss?!" Marcus shrieked over the roar of the helicopter blades, dragging her toward the balustrade. "You belong to me, Maya! I made you! I’m taking you to Moretti’s safehouse in South America, and no one is ever going to find you again!"
Maya felt the terror rising in her chest, but then her fingers brushed against the small silver dagger Vincent had given her, concealed inside the inner lining of her silk sleeve.
No more running.
No more hiding.
Maya didn't scream. She didn't beg.
She drove her elbow backward into Marcus’s ribs with all the force in her body. He gasped, his grip loosening for a fraction of a second.
Maya drew the silver dagger, spun around, and slashed the blade sharply across Marcus’s forearm.
"AAAAGH!" Marcus screamed, staggering back, blood welling up through his dark coat. He looked at her in absolute shock, holding his bleeding arm. "You... you stabbed me?!"
"I told you," Maya shouted over the roar of the storm, holding the silver blade steady in front of her, her eyes burning with fierce, unstoppable strength. "I am not yours anymore!"
BANG!
A heavy gunshot echoed over the thunder.
Marcus stiffened. A small, neat hole appeared in the center of his chest. He looked down at his coat in disbelief, then looked up past Maya toward the terrace doors.
Vincent stood on the threshold.
He was drenched in blood and rainwater, his hair pushed back, his custom black pistol raised in his right hand, smoke rising from the barrel. His eyes were pure, terrifying carnage.
Marcus collapsed backward over the low stone balustrade, falling forty feet into the crashing waves of the ocean below, swallowed by the dark water forever.
Before the helicopter above could fire its mounted guns, Dante and six Torino enforcers burst onto the balcony, firing heavy sniper rounds into the chopper's engine block. The aircraft burst into flames, veering off into the stormy night sky before crashing into the distant bay.
Maya dropped the small dagger, her body shaking as the adrenaline washed out of her system.
May you like
Vincent walked across the wet stone terrace, ignoring the rain, ignoring the alarm sirens wailing across the city. He pulled her into his arms, lifting her off her feet, pressing his face into her neck, holding her so tightly she could feel every beat of his thundering heart.
"I have you," Vincent rasped, his voice thick with raw emotion. "I’ve got you, my queen. It's over."
