Chapter 5 - The Fire and the Shield
Three days passed in an eerie, tense calm.
The mansion had been converted into an impenetrable fortress. Armed guards guarded every hallway, and security checkpoints were doubled at the front gates.
Alejandro had fulfilled his promise. The suite was stacked with fresh boxes of state-of-the-art auto-injectors. A top pediatric specialist from the city's best hospital had checked my health and cleared me completely.
Mama was still nervous, unable to fully wrap her head around our new life. But whenever Alejandro entered the room, his dark demeanor instantly softened. He even sat on the floor with me one afternoon, awkwardly letting me put a pink hair clip into his slicked-back black hair while his bodyguards nearly choked on their own breath trying not to laugh.
"Mr. Moretti, look! Rabbit has a clip too!" I had cheered, holding up my stuffed toy.
"It suits him," Alejandro had replied without a hint of irony, his cold eyes harboring a rare warmth.
But the peace was shattered on Thursday night.
A massive thunderstorm raged outside, heavy rain pounding against the reinforced glass windows. Suddenly, the power to the entire estate cut out.
Red emergency lights flashed in the hallways, accompanied by the blaring screech of the perimeter alarm.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion echoed from the main gate downstairs. Shouts, gunfire, and shattered glass filled the air. Don Russo’s hit squad had taken advantage of the storm to launch a full-scale assault on the Moretti estate.
"Emma!" Mama screamed, jumping out of bed and grabbing me into her arms.
Outside our room, heavy footsteps rushed down the hall. The door burst open, and Alejandro strode in, holding a high-powered tactical rifle, his body armor strapped tight.
"Lorenzo, secure the perimeter!" Alejandro barked into his earpiece before turning to us. "Elena, take Emma into the safe room behind the closet! Now!"
"What's happening?!" Mama cried out in terror.
"Russo sent his men," Alejandro said grimly. "They think they can eliminate my household. They thought wrong."
Before Mama could move toward the closet, the hallway outside echoed with automatic gunfire. A group of heavily armed mercenaries had broken through the second-floor defense.
"They're on the third floor! Target the kid's suite!" a harsh voice yelled from the corridor.
Alejandro’s eyes snapped toward the doorway. "Get behind me!"
Two mercenaries kicked through the grand suite doors, guns raised.
Alejandro reacted with superhuman speed. He raised his rifle, firing a precise burst that took down both men instantly. But a third gunman emerged from the shadows, sweeping his automatic weapon across the room toward the corner where Mama and I were trapped.
TAK-TAK-TAK-TAK!
Splinters of mahogany and marble exploded into the air.
"Emma!" Mama shrieked, shielding me with her body.
Without a second thought, Alejandro lunged across the room. He threw his massive body over both of us, turning his back to the incoming hail of bullets.
THUD! THUD!
Two high-caliber rounds slammed into Alejandro’s back armor. The impact was strong enough to make the giant groan in pain, but he did not yield an inch. He kept his arms wrapped firmly around Mama and me, absorbing the entire force of the attack like an iron mountain.
Spinning around with lethal precision, Alejandro fired his sidearm with his free hand, putting a bullet directly through the attacker's helmet.
The room went silent, save for the sound of heavy rain and Alejandro's rough breathing.
He looked down at me. Blood dripped from a minor shrapnel graze on his cheek, but his eyes were filled with intense concern.
"Are you hit, little rabbit?" he asked, calling me by the nickname he had secretly given me.
I looked up at him, my big brown eyes wide, shaking my head softly. "No... Mr. Moretti, you're bleeding..."
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Alejandro wiped the blood away with the back of his hand, a dark, ferocious grin spreading across his face.
"This isn't my blood," he whispered. "Stay here."
