Chapter 6 - The Shield in the Shadows
The deafening roar of the assault rifle shattered the silence of the warehouse.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
I screamed, instinctively throwing my body across my mother’s, waiting for the burning agony of the bullets to tear through us.
But the impact never came.
Instead, a heavy weight slammed into me from the side, knocking me and my mother violently to the cold concrete floor.
I gasped for air, the world spinning in a chaotic blur of noise and dust. I scrambled to sit up, my hands franticly checking my mother. She was unharmed, trembling violently, but alive.
Then I looked to my left.
Leo was lying on the ground.
He had thrown himself between Arthur’s rifle and us.
“Leo!” Luca roared, a sound so primal and full of agony it tore at my heart.
Luca didn't draw a weapon. He moved with the blinding, terrifying speed of a predator. He crossed the distance to Arthur before the older man could adjust his aim for a second burst.
Luca slammed into Arthur with the force of a freight train. The assault rifle clattered uselessly across the concrete. Luca pinned Arthur to the rusted side of the shipping container, his massive hands wrapping around the man’s throat.
“Luca, don't!” I screamed, crawling toward Leo.
Luca didn't hear me. His eyes were completely black with rage, his muscles bulging as he squeezed the life out of the man who had just shot his brother. Arthur’s face turned a horrific shade of purple, his eyes bulging as he clawed helplessly at Luca’s arms.
“You’re dead,” Luca hissed, the words dripping with lethal intent.
I reached Leo’s side. He was lying on his back, clutching his abdomen. Dark crimson blood seeped rapidly through his fingers, staining his crisp white shirt.
“Leo,” I sobbed, pressing my hands over his, trying to stem the flow. “Oh God, Leo, stay with me.”
Leo groaned, his face pale, sweat beading on his forehead. But incredibly, he offered a weak, shaky smile.
“I’m okay, Hannah,” Leo rasped, coughing slightly. “It’s just... a graze.”
It wasn't a graze. It was a direct hit to his lower side.
“Luca!” Leo shouted, his voice straining. “Luca, stop!”
Luca froze. The sound of his brother’s voice pierced through his murderous rage.
He looked over his shoulder, his chest heaving. He saw Leo alive, bleeding but conscious.
Luca released his grip instantly.
Arthur collapsed to the floor in a heap, gasping frantically for air, clutching his bruised throat.
Luca sprinted back to us, dropping to his knees beside Leo. He shoved my hands aside, tearing open Leo’s shirt to inspect the wound.
“It’s a through-and-through,” Luca assessed rapidly, his voice shaking with relief, though his hands were steady as he applied pressure. “It missed the vital organs, but you’re losing a lot of blood. We need a medic now.”
Luca pulled his phone from his pocket with his free hand, dialing his private trauma team.
“Get the chopper to the South Side warehouse immediately,” Luca barked into the phone. “Gunshot wound to the abdomen. Bring the blood.”
He threw the phone aside and looked down at his brother.
“You stupid idiot,” Luca said, his voice cracking. “Why did you jump?”
Leo chuckled, wincing in pain. “You were too far away, boss. Had to protect the assistant.”
Tears streamed down my face. I grabbed Leo’s hand, holding it tight. “You saved my mother. You saved me.”
“You saved me first, Hannah,” Leo whispered, his hazel eyes locking onto mine. “At the dinner table. It’s only fair.”
A sudden, sharp sound broke the moment.
Vanessa was scrambling across the warehouse floor toward her father. She grabbed Arthur by the arm, trying to haul him up.
“Dad, get up! We have to go!” Vanessa shrieked, terrified of what Luca would do next.
Arthur groaned, stumbling to his feet. He looked at Luca, expecting a bullet.
Luca didn't reach for a gun. He just stared at the broken, desperate man.
“Take him, Vanessa,” Luca said coldly.
Vanessa froze, stunned. “What?”
“Take your father and leave,” Luca stated, his eyes never leaving his bleeding brother. “I told you, we’re done spilling blood for ghosts. The confession is going to the police tomorrow. Your father will spend the rest of his miserable life in a federal penitentiary for extortion. Run while you can.”
Arthur didn't need to be told twice. He grabbed Vanessa’s arm and limped toward the open warehouse doors, fleeing into the rainy night like a coward.
The heavy silence of the warehouse returned, broken only by the distant, rhythmic thumping of approaching helicopter blades.
“They’re here,” Luca breathed, immense relief washing over his face.
Ten minutes later, the warehouse was swarming with Luca’s private medical team. They moved with terrifying efficiency, loading Leo onto a stretcher, hooking him up to IVs, and stabilizing his vitals.
As they rolled him toward the waiting helicopter outside, Leo reached out and grabbed my hand.
“Hannah,” he rasped, looking up at me through half-closed eyes.
“I’m right here,” I promised, walking beside the stretcher.
“Keep the medallion safe for me?” he asked, a weak smile on his lips.
I reached into my pocket, pulling out the heavy bronze coin, clutching it tightly.
“I will,” I swore. “I’ll bring it to you at the hospital.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” Leo whispered, before the medics loaded him into the chopper.
Luca stood by the open doors, watching the helicopter lift off into the rainy sky. He looked exhausted, the weight of the night finally catching up to him.
He turned to me.
“My driver is pulling up in a secure vehicle,” Luca said gently. “He’ll take you and your mother to my private clinic. She’ll get the best care possible, completely off the books. You’ll be safe there.”
“Thank you, Luca,” I said, genuinely overwhelmed by his kindness.
“No, Hannah,” Luca corrected, placing a firm hand on my shoulder. “Thank you. You brought my brother back to me today.”
I watched Luca walk away, issuing orders to Marco to clean up the warehouse.
Two hours later, I was sitting in a plush, quiet waiting room in a private clinic on the North Side. My mother was resting comfortably in a suite down the hall, finally breathing easily with proper medical support.
I held a cup of terrible waiting-room coffee, staring at the bronze medallion in my hand.
The door to the waiting room clicked open.
A tall, impeccably dressed man walked in. He wore a sharp gray suit, silver hair perfectly combed, holding a leather briefcase. He looked completely out of place in a medical clinic at three in the morning.
He stopped when he saw me.
“Excuse me,” the man said smoothly. “Are you Hannah Collins?”
I frowned, standing up cautiously. “Yes. Who are you?”
The man offered a polite, professional smile.
“My name is Thomas Vance,” he said, extending a hand. “I am the senior legal counsel for the Commission in New York.”
My blood ran cold. The Commission. The ruling body of the Five Families.
“What do you want?” I asked, refusing to shake his hand.
Thomas lowered his hand, unfazed.
“I’m here about the confession,” Thomas stated bluntly. “Word reached New York very quickly tonight that Luca Moretti possesses a document detailing his father’s sins.”
I stepped back. “I don't know what you’re talking about.”
“Please, Miss Collins, let’s not play games,” Thomas sighed, opening his briefcase. “The Commission is very interested in avoiding a public scandal. If Luca hands that letter to the police, it invites federal scrutiny on all of us. We cannot allow that.”
He pulled out a thick, legal document and placed it on the coffee table.
“The Commission has authorized me to offer you a deal,” Thomas said smoothly. “Convince Luca to destroy the confession, and we will guarantee the Moretti family’s safety. We will even forgive Arthur Bellini’s debt to the Russians to keep the peace.”
I stared at the lawyer, appalled. “You want me to convince him to protect a murderer?”
“I want you to protect his life,” Thomas corrected sharply.
He reached back into his briefcase and pulled out a single, glossy photograph. He tossed it onto the table next to the document.
“Because if the confession goes to the police tomorrow morning,” Thomas warned, his voice dropping to a lethal whisper.
I looked down at the photograph.
It was a picture of my apartment building. Taken tonight.
But it wasn't the building that made my heart stop.
May you like
It was the man standing in the window of my living room, looking directly at the camera, holding a lighter.
“If the confession goes public,” Thomas Vance smiled a terrifying smile, “the Commission won’t just take Luca’s territory. They will burn everything he cares about. Starting with you.”
