Chapter 8 - Fire and Blood
The grand foyer of the estate was a battlefield.
Smoke filled the air, fire consumed the grand curtains, and the sound of heavy automatic gunfire echoed down the marble corridors. Several of Mateo's guards lay wounded on the floor, while masked mercenaries dressed in tactical gear pushed their way toward the upper floors.
Mateo moved through the smoke like a phantom, firing with lethal accuracy. Mercenaries dropped one by one as he cleared a path toward the grand staircase.
I ran behind him, stepping over glass and debris, my bare feet burning on the hot marble floor.
"Mara! I told you to stay in the car!" Mateo roared over the sound of gunfire as he reloaded his weapon.
"He's my nephew! He's my baby too!" I shouted back, grabbing a heavy brass candlestick from a fallen table to use as a weapon. "Which way?!"
"Third floor! The nursery safe room!"
We sprinted up the stairs just as two mercenaries stepped out from the hallway, aiming assault rifles directly at us.
Mateo tackled me to the floor, rolling us behind a thick marble pillar just as a hail of bullets shattered the plaster above our heads.
"I'm out of ammo!" Mateo spat, dumping his empty magazines onto the floor.
One of the mercenaries approached our pillar, stepping slowly, his rifle pointed straight at where we were crouching.
My heart was beating in my ears. I looked at the heavy brass candlestick in my hand, then looked at Mateo. He gave me a tiny, approving nod.
As the mercenary stepped around the pillar, I swung the candlestick with every ounce of strength in my body!
CRACK!
The heavy brass smashed directly into the side of the helmeted soldier's head. He stumbled back, disoriented. Mateo instantly lunged forward, grabbing the soldier's rifle, twisting his arm, and slamming him headfirst into the marble wall, knocking him unconscious.
Mateo scooped up the fallen soldier's rifle and sidearm, tossing the handgun to me. "Know how to use it?"
"Point and pull, right?" I gasped, my hands shaking.
"Keep the safety off," Mateo said, a flash of proud admiration in his eyes. "Follow me!"
We reached the third floor. The nursery door was hanging off its hinges, destroyed by explosives.
My heart stopped beating. "NO! LEO!"
I burst into the room.
Sitting in the corner, bleeding from a head wound, was Renee, Mateo’s trusted guard. She was holding a smoking handgun, two dead mercenaries lying at her feet. And tucked safely behind her, wrapped in his yellow blanket, was Leo.
The baby was crying softly, but he was completely unharmed.
"Renee!" Mateo rushed over, kneeling beside his wounded guard.
"I... I held the safe room, Boss," Renee gasped, coughing up smoke. "They couldn't get to the child."
I dropped to my knees and gathered Leo into my arms, pulling him close against my neck. The second Leo felt my arms around him, his soft cries ceased. He buried his small face into my torn dress, holding onto my collar with his familiar, miraculous grip.
"I've got you, Leo," I sobbed, tears flowing freely down my cheeks. "I've got you. You're safe."
Mateo stood up, looking at us amidst the smoke, fire, and destruction of his home.
He slowly lowered his rifle, stepping over to us. He knelt down, wrapping his large, strong arms around both Leo and me, pulling us tight against his chest.
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For the first time since I met him, Mateo Valenti wept softly, his forehead resting against mine as the fire was extinguished by the estate’s automated sprinkler system above.
"It's over," Mateo whispered, his voice full of peace. "It's finally over."
