Chapter 5 - THE ASSASSIN
The high-pitched wail of the security siren echoed through the massive stone halls of the Westchester estate.
Dominic reacted instantly. He stood up, pulling a silver semi-automatic pistol from his leather shoulder holster in one fluid motion.
Marco slammed the double doors open, his gun drawn. "Boss! Perimeter breach at the north wall! A team of three armed men bypassed the sensor grid!"
"Get Penelope to the panic room in the basement!" Dominic ordered sharply, stepping in front of her to block her body from the door.
"Dominic, no!" Penelope cried out, pulling on his arm. "They're coming for me! My father sent them!"
"They won't reach you," Dominic said coldly, turning his head to look at her. "Marco, move her now!"
Marco grabbed Penelope’s arm, hurrying her down the grand hallway toward the hidden steel door behind the library bookshelves. Gunfire erupted outside the large glass windows of the estate, echoing loudly through the courtyard.
Penelope’s heart pounded wildly against her ribs. She didn't want to hide in the dark anymore. She had spent eight years hiding in her father's basement, helpless and afraid.
As Marco unlocked the heavy keypad of the panic room door, a loud glass explosion shattered the upper balcony above them.
A mercenary clad in dark tactical gear dropped down from the balcony, landing heavily on the marble floor ten feet away. He raised an silenced submachine gun, aiming straight at Marco.
"Look out!" Penelope screamed.
She didn't think. She didn't hesitate. Penelope slammed her heavy, soft body straight into Marco, shoving the large security guard out of the line of fire.
The mercenary fired off a volley of shots. The bullets hit the wall where Marco had been standing, spraying plaster dust across the corridor.
Marco rolled onto his shoulder, pulled his sidearm, and fired two rapid shots straight into the assassin's chest. The mercenary fell backward onto the marble floor, motionless.
Dominic sprinted down the hallway, his face pale with rare panic as he saw Penelope lying on the floor beside Marco.
"Penelope!" Dominic roared, dropping to his knees beside her, his hands frantically scanning her body for blood. "Are you hit?! Speak to me!"
Penelope gasped for air, her robe disheveled, her knees bruised from the hard impact with the marble floor. She looked up at Dominic’s panicked, handsome face.
"I'm... I'm okay," she choked out. "I shoved Marco."
Marco stood up, wiping sweat from his forehead, looking at Penelope in complete shock. "Boss... she saved my life. She took the hit for me."
May you like
Dominic looked at Penelope, his icy blue eyes wide with a profound mixture of awe, relief, and intense emotion. He carefully wrapped his broad arms around her full figure, lifting her off the cold marble floor into his chest as if she weighed nothing at all.
"You crazy, brave woman," Dominic whispered into her hair, holding her tight against his beating heart. "I’ve got you. I’ve got you."
