Chapter 7 - The Assault on the Estate
The heavy iron gates of the Valenti estate were blown open by a localized explosive charge—BOOM!
Smoke and twisted metal rained down on the driveway as three black armored SUVs slammed through the breach, tires screaming against the wet asphalt.
From the upper windows and garden positions, Luca’s shooters opened fire. The heavy chatter of automatic weapons echoed across the quiet residential neighborhood, a storm of lead pounding against the reinforced glass of Mercer’s vehicles.
Inside the estate’s secure monitoring suite, Elena sat before a bank of eight glowing screens, her fingers flying across her keyboard.
Beside her, Luca stood looking at the main security feed, flanked by Dante and four heavily armed soldiers.
“Mercer’s lead SUV is disabled near the fountain!” Elena reported quickly, tracking the thermal signatures on her monitor. “Four men are exiting the vehicle, moving toward the west terrace. But the third vehicle—the one carrying Mercer—is heading around the back toward the service entrance!”
Luca’s eyes narrowed. “He knows the service entrance bypasses the main security shutters.”
“He knows because Victor Vance gave him the layout last week,” Elena said, her voice completely calm despite the deafening sounds of gunfire echoing from the floor above. “Mercer thinks he’s sneaking in through a blind spot. But I’ve rerouted the electronic locks on the service corridor.”
She slammed a key on her board.
Across the estate, heavy steel security doors slid down over the service corridor, locking Mercer and his three remaining lieutenants inside a narrow, reinforced stone entryway—a complete kill-box.
“He’s trapped in Corridor Four,” Elena said, looking up at Luca with a cold, triumphant smile.
Luca grinned—a terrifying, lethal expression that belonged to the king of the Manhattan underworld.
“Dante,” Luca commanded, adjusting the cuffs of his white shirt. “Hold the west terrace. The rest of you, stay here with Elena.”
“Luca, wait,” Elena stood up, her hand closing around her revolver. “Are you going alone?”
Luca pulled a secondary magazine from his belt, slapping it into his pistol with a crisp CLACK.
“Mercer came here to kill me, Elena,” Luca said, his voice dropping into an icy, terrifying register. “He threatened your family. He sent a beast to touch you. I owe him a personal response.”
He walked over to her, taking her face in his hands, kissing her deeply and fiercely once more.
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“Watch the monitor, my heart,” Luca whispered against her lips. “This won't take long.”
He turned and strode out of the monitoring room, his long dark coat billowing behind him like the cloak of an executioner.
