Chapter 8 - THE VELVET COAT
The warehouse erupted into absolute chaos.
At the exact second Vanessa screamed, Luca moved faster than humanly possible.
He didn't drop to the floor. He drew his weapon from his shoulder holster and fired two shots in rapid succession. The two guards on the catwalk above plummeted over the railing, hitting the concrete with a sickening crunch.
Gunfire tore through the air, deafening and bright in the dim warehouse.
I dove behind a massive stack of rusted metal barrels as bullets chewed into the concrete exactly where I had been standing.
"Emma, stay down!" Luca roared over the deafening noise.
I pressed my back against the cold metal, covering my ears as Julian’s men returned fire. Luca was a one-man army, using the structural steel beams for cover, methodically taking down Julian’s guards one by one with terrifying precision.
But I wasn't focused on the guards.
I peaked around the edge of the barrel.
Vanessa was dragging a screaming Oliver toward the back office of the warehouse, retreating from the crossfire. She was wearing a heavy, dark red velvet coat over her silk dress, the fabric billowing as she pulled the struggling child.
I didn't wait for Luca's permission.
I gripped my pistol, ignoring the agonizing pain in my right hand, and sprinted through the shadows, chasing the flash of red velvet.
I caught up to them just as Vanessa dragged Oliver into the small, glass-walled office at the back of the building. She slammed the door shut and locked it.
I ran up to the glass.
Vanessa had her back to me, frantically typing on a laptop sitting on the desk. She was initiating the bank transfers herself.
Oliver was huddled in the corner, sobbing.
I raised my gun and brought the heavy metal butt down on the glass door handle as hard as I could.
The glass shattered.
Vanessa spun around with a shriek.
I kicked the remaining glass out of the frame and stepped into the office, leveling the gun directly at her chest.
"Step away from the computer, Vanessa," I said, my voice eerily calm despite the adrenaline surging through my veins.
Vanessa stared at the barrel of the gun. Her perfect makeup was smeared, and her hair was wild. The elegant society fiancée was entirely gone, revealing the desperate, cornered rat beneath.
"You don't have the guts to pull that trigger, you pathetic little maid," Vanessa spat.
"You killed a helpless old woman in her bed," I replied coldly. "You kidnapped a six-year-old boy. And you threatened my mother. I promise you, Vanessa, I will pull this trigger without blinking."
She saw the deadly seriousness in my eyes.
She slowly raised her hands, stepping away from the desk.
"Okay," she breathed, her eyes darting nervously. "Okay. Just take the boy."
I didn't lower the gun. "Where is my mother?"
Vanessa smiled, a cruel, vicious curve of her lips.
"She's at a private hospice facility on the north side. The paperwork is in my coat pocket."
I hesitated.
"Get it," I commanded. "Slowly."
Vanessa slowly reached her hand into the deep pocket of her red velvet coat.
But she didn't pull out a piece of paper.
She pulled out a silver derringer pistol she had hidden in the lining.
She raised it instantly, aiming right at my face.
"Drop it, Emma!" she screamed.
We were locked in a standoff. Two women with guns pointed directly at each other, separated by three feet of air.
"You won't make it out of here, Vanessa," I said, my heart pounding. "Luca has already killed Julian’s men."
"Then I'll just have to use you as a hostage," she sneered.
Suddenly, the heavy metal door of the office was kicked entirely off its hinges.
Luca stepped into the room.
His face was streaked with soot and blood. His eyes were completely black with rage. He looked at Vanessa, who now had her gun trained on me, and then at Oliver, huddled in the corner.
"It's over, Vanessa," Luca said, his voice dropping into a lethal, terrifying whisper. "Julian is dead on the warehouse floor. Your men are gone. Put the gun down."
Vanessa panicked. She looked from me to Luca, realizing she had completely lost.
"If I go to prison, you get nothing!" Vanessa shrieked at Luca. "I've already initiated the transfer of the estate funds to an offshore account! It clears in five minutes!"
"I don't care about the money," Luca said, stepping slowly into the room. He didn't even raise his weapon. He simply walked toward her, projecting an aura of absolute dominance. "I care about my family."
Vanessa’s hand shook violently. She pointed the gun away from me and aimed it directly at Luca's chest.
"Stop walking!" she screamed.
Luca didn't stop. He took another step.
"You poisoned my mother," he stated, his voice echoing in the small room.
"She was in the way!" Vanessa cried. "She figured out I was working with the Rossis! She was going to tell you!"
"And you thought I would forgive that?" Luca asked, taking a final step until his chest was inches from the barrel of her gun.
Vanessa’s finger tightened on the trigger.
But she was looking at Luca's face.
She didn't see the little boy standing up behind her.
Oliver, tears streaming down his face, picked up a heavy metal stapler from the desk and threw it as hard as his six-year-old arm could manage.
The heavy metal hit Vanessa directly in the back of the head.
She cried out in pain, stumbling forward.
In that split second, Luca grabbed her wrist, twisting it brutally. The gun clattered to the floor. He shoved Vanessa hard against the wall, pinning her there with his forearm against her throat.
"You will never see the outside of a federal prison," Luca snarled into her ear.
He didn't kill her. He wanted her to suffer slowly.
He dropped her to the floor, where she curled into a sobbing, defeated ball.
Luca turned around.
Oliver ran across the room and launched himself into Luca's arms. The massive Mafia boss buried his face in the child's neck, holding him so tightly it looked like he would never let go.
I lowered my gun, my entire body shaking as the adrenaline finally crashed.
I walked over to the discarded velvet coat lying on the floor. I reached into the pocket and pulled out the folded piece of paper.
It was the transfer paperwork for my mother. It had the address of the facility.
I looked up at Luca.
May you like
He was holding Oliver, but he was looking directly at me. The gratitude, respect, and profound emotion in his dark eyes took my breath away.
"Let's go get your mother," he said.
