Chapter 6 - The Siege of the Manor
Marco’s scream was cut short as he hit the courtyard below.
Daario stood on the balcony, rain soaking his blood-stained shirt, his arm dripping crimson onto the shattered glass. He didn't have time to process the agony of the betrayal.
From down in the main driveway, heavy engines roared to life. Headlights cut through the rain as six armored vans burst through the estate's outer gates, crashing past the security guardhouses.
The guards Marco had bribed had opened the gates, but they hadn't expected Marco to fail. Now, the secondary force—Salvatore Scalese’s personal strike team—was moving in to finish what Marco had started, intending to wipe out the Moretti estate and eliminate every witness to the truth.
Automatic gunfire erupted across the grounds, shattering the lower windows of the mansion.
"Grandpa!"
A terrified voice echoed from the hallway.
Daario spun around. Mia was standing in the doorway of the study, wearing an oversized flannel shirt, clutching her silver locket, her eyes wide with horror as she looked at the blood dripping from his arm and the shattered balcony behind him.
"Mia!" Daario shouted, sprinting across the room and sweeping her up into his good arm.
He kicked the study door shut, throwing the heavy brass bolt into place just as a hail of bullets tore through the dark wood panels, sending splinters flying across the room.
"Stay down!" Daario ordered, crouching behind the heavy mahogany desk and pulling the girl beneath it.
"Are the bad men here?" Mia whimpered, burying her face into his chest, her tiny hands clutching his shirt so hard her knuckles turned white.
"They are," Daario said, reaching beneath the secret panel beneath his desk and pulling out a heavy metallic case. He flipped the latches, revealing a pair of high-caliber handguns and three extended magazines. "But they made a mistake coming into my house."
"I'm scared," she sobbed.
Daario looked down at her, taking her small face in his scarred, bloodied hands. "Listen to me, Mia. Look at me."
Mia looked up, her gray-green eyes searching his.
"Your mother was the bravest person I ever knew," Daario said, his voice steady, pouring every ounce of his soul into the words. "She protected you from the dark for seven years. Now it is my turn. I will not let anything happen to you. Do you hear me? Nothing."
Mia wiped a tear from her eye and gave a small, shaky nod.
The heavy study door shuddered as a breaching charge was slapped against the hinges outside.
"Cover your ears, baby," Daario whispered.
May you like
He stood up, holding a heavy tactical pistol in each hand, his dark eyes ablaze with the ancient, terrifying power of the Don.
The door blew inward with a deafening CRACK.
