The first thing Elena Castillo remembered was the smell of lemon polish on her hands.

The backup generators didn't kick on.

In a house fortified like a military base, a complete power failure meant only one thing: the main breaker grid had been physically cut, and the auxiliary relays had been sabotaged from the inside.

"Elena, down!" Adrian’s voice barked through the dark.

Before Elena could react, strong arms grabbed her and Sophia, pulling them off their chairs and shoving them beneath the heavy mahogany dining table. Adrian was already crouched beside them, his sidearm drawn, the slide racking back with a sharp, mechanical click.

Titan didn't hide. The dog positioned himself at the edge of the tablecloth, facing the double doors, his body vibrating with lethal focus.

From the hallway outside came the muffled *thwack-thwack-thwack* of suppressed gunfire, followed by the heavy thud of bodies hitting the floor.

"Dante's team is engaged," Adrian muttered, his voice cold, steady, and terrifyingly calm. "Vincent didn't plan this alone. He had a kill team pre-positioned outside the perimeter."

"Adrian..." Elena gasped, clutching Sophia to her chest. Sophia’s little hands gripped Elena’s collar, her eyes wide with terror, but she didn't cry.

"Listen to me," Adrian said, leaning close in the pitch darkness. He reached into his coat and pulled out a small, heavy tactical flashlight, pressing it into Elena’s hand along with a spare magazine. "There is a service corridor behind the pantry. It leads to the underground wine cellar, and from there, a reinforced storm tunnel exits past the gatehouse. You take Sophia. You run."

"What about you?" Elena cried, tears spilling down her cheeks. "You're still recovering! You can't take on a mercenary team alone!"

"I’m not alone," Adrian said, glancing down at Titan. "I have my hound. And this is my house. Go, Elena. Now!"

Footsteps rushed toward the dining room doors.

"Go!" Adrian roared.

Elena grabbed Sophia’s hand and sprinted through the shadows toward the kitchen pantry, her heart threatening to burst through her chest.

Behind her, the heavy dining room doors were kicked off their hinges with a violent crash.

Muzzle flashes strobed through the room like lightning, illuminating the violence in horrific staccato frames. Two men in tactical gear and night-vision goggles burst in, their submachine guns raised.

Adrian fired three controlled shots from behind the table. The lead mercenary collapsed with a choked gasp.

At the same instant, Titan launched himself into the air like a black missile.

The Cane Corso collided with the second gunman, his massive jaws locking onto the man’s tactical vest and dragging him to the floor with bone-splintering force. The mercenary screamed as the gun clattered away across the marble.

In the kitchen, Elena shoved Sophia into the narrow service corridor. "Run, baby! Don't look back, just keep running!"

"Mommy, what about Titan?" Sophia sobbed, her little legs pumping as fast as they could down the narrow, brick-lined tunnel. "We can't leave Titan!"

"He's helping Adrian! Just keep moving!"

They reached the heavy iron door of the wine cellar. Elena threw her weight against the brass latch, panting, her hands slick with sweat.

The door didn't budge.

Elena’s blood turned to ice. She pulled the handle again with all her strength. It was locked from the outside. Electronic deadbolts—defaulted to fail-secure when the power grid died.

They were trapped.

Behind them, at the entrance to the kitchen, slow, deliberate footsteps echoed over the linoleum.

Elena shoved Sophia behind a stack of industrial flour bins, grabbed a heavy cast-iron skillet from the prep rack, and stepped out into the faint moonlight filtering through the high kitchen windows.

Emerging from the shadows was Vincent Moretti.

His sling was gone. In his right hand, he held a sleek black automatic pistol. His face was twisted into a triumphant, psychotic grin, blood spattered across his white dress shirt.

"Looking for the emergency exit, sweetheart?" Vincent chuckled, raising the gun. "I had the auxiliary lines rewired yesterday morning. Nobody leaves the house tonight. Especially not you."

Elena raised the skillet, her arms shaking, standing tall between Vincent and the flour bins where Sophia was hiding. "Stay away from my daughter, you bastard."

"Your daughter is the reason I’m in this mess!" Vincent snarled, stepping closer, his finger tightening on the trigger. "If she hadn't touched that goddamn dog, Adrian would be in the morgue, and I would be running this city! But don't worry. I’ll make sure she joins you."

"Vincent!" a voice cracked through the kitchen like thunder.

Vincent spun around.

Adrian stood in the doorway. His suit jacket was torn, blood dripping from a gash along his temple, his chest heaving with exertion. But his eyes were wide, burning with the wrath of a demon unleashed.