Chapter 5 - The Ambush at the Gates
The rain was freezing as Hunter ran down the long, cobblestone driveway of the Rossi estate.
The wind whipped her wet hair across her face, but she didn't slow down. Her heart pounded in her chest as she approached the massive, fifteen-foot iron gates guarding the entrance to the property.
Standing inside the small stone guardhouse beside the gate was a guard named Frank—a burly man with a thick beard, holding a rifle.
When Frank saw Hunter running through the rain in her maid's dress, he stepped out of the guardhouse, startled.
"Miss Higgins!" Frank called out over the storm. "What are you doing out here?! You need to stay inside!"
"Frank, please," Hunter gasped, soaking wet, her chest heaving. "There's a car outside. It's... it's someone I know. He's drunk and crazy. Please don't shoot him, just let me talk to him for two minutes so he leaves!"
Frank frowned, looking through the heavy iron bars toward the rusted sedan parked on the rain-slick road. "Miss Higgins, Don Lorenzo gave strict orders—"
Before Frank could finish his sentence, the headlights of the rusted sedan suddenly flashed bright.
The engine roared.
"Tommy, no!" Hunter screamed.
The rusted sedan accelerated violently, zooming straight down the narrow coastal road toward the gates.
BANG!
A sharp gunshot echoed from the dark treeline across the road.
The front tire of Tommy’s sedan exploded into shredded rubber. The car swerved wildly out of control, skidding across the wet asphalt, crashing violently into a stone angel statue near the estate’s outer wall.
Hunter screamed, covering her ears.
"Get down!" Frank shouted, pulling Hunter behind the concrete guardhouse, unclipping his radio. "We have an breach at the south gate! All units, respond!"
From the dark woods across the coastal road, six armed men in raincoats stepped out from the shadows, raising submachine guns.
They weren't Tommy’s loan sharks.
They were Moretti syndicate assassins.
Gino Moretti hadn't just set a trap for Lorenzo at the harbor docks—he had sent a secondary strike team to destroy the Rossi estate while Lorenzo was away, intending to wipe out Lorenzo’s heir and burn the mansion to the ground.
Tommy’s drunk arrival had accidentally triggered the ambush early.
TAK-ATAK-ATAK-ATAK!
A rain of heavy bullets slammed into the stone guardhouse, shattering the glass windows and spraying concrete dust into the air.
Frank raised his rifle, firing back through the iron gate, killing one of the attackers, but two more assassins advanced with heavy tactical shotguns.
"Miss Higgins! Run back to the house!" Frank yelled, blood dripping from a crease on his forehead where a bullet had grazed him. "RUN!"
Hunter didn't hesitate. She turned and sprinted back up the steep driveway toward the mansion, her heart hammering in her throat.
Behind her, the heavy sounds of automatic gunfire and exploding grenades shattered the peaceful night.
Leo! was the only thought in her mind. I have to reach Leo!
As Hunter reached the front steps of the mansion, the heavy double mahogany doors were kicked open from the inside.
Marco rushed out, leading fifteen heavily armed enforcers down the steps to reinforce the gate.
When Marco saw Hunter, he grabbed her arm, his face pale with adrenaline. "Where is the attack coming from?!"
"The outer woods!" Hunter shouted over the wind. "They have heavy guns!"
"Get inside!" Marco barked, shoving her into the foyer. "Lock the doors! We will hold them at the perimeter!"
Hunter slammed the massive mahogany doors shut, throwing the heavy brass deadbolts into place.
She turned around, gasping for air in the dim, quiet grand foyer.
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Above her, on the third floor, the sound of a baby crying began to echo down the marble staircase.
Leo was awake.
