Chapter 6 - The Serpent in the House
Ten minutes later, the emergency backup lights flickered back on. The estate's primary tactical team, led by Julian's second-in-command, a towering man named Gabriel, finally cut their way through the main vault doors.
Gabriel took one look at the two dead hitmen on the floor, the blood on my hands, and his boss propped up against the wall with a professional-grade medical bandage wrapped around his shoulder.
"Boss," Gabriel said, lowering his weapon instantly. "The perimeter is clear. We wiped out the rest of Marcone's breach squad on the east gate."
"Who gave them the security bypass codes, Gabriel?" Julian asked, his voice low, cold, and dripping with venom despite his blood loss.
Gabriel hesitated, glancing briefly at me before looking back at Julian. "It wasn't an external hack. The codes were entered from inside the master control room. From chief Bennett’s terminal."
My stomach dropped. Bennett. The head of security who had spent the last three weeks watching my every move on the nanny cams.
"Where is Bennett?" Julian demanded, leaning on me as he pushed himself up to his feet.
"Dead," Gabriel reported grimly. "Found him in the monitoring room with a bullet in the back of his head. Marcone's team used him to open the gates, then put him down so he couldn't talk."
Julian stood tall, refusing to show any weakness in front of his surviving lieutenants. He turned his attention to me. I was covered in his blood, holding his sleeping son, standing in the middle of a warzone.
"Get the cars ready," Julian ordered Gabriel. "We move to the downtown safehouse immediately."
"And the girl?" Gabriel asked, eyeing me suspiciously. "She knows too much now, boss."
Julian stepped in front of Gabriel, towering over his lieutenant despite his injury. The atmosphere in the room turned sub-zero in an instant.
"She saved my life," Julian said softly, his voice carrying a promise of violence for anyone who questioned him. "She saved my son's life. If anyone in this organization looks at her the wrong way, I will personally throw them into the river. Is that understood?"
Gabriel bowed his head instantly. "Understood, boss."
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Julian turned back to me. He reached out with his uninjured arm, his thumb gently wiping a smudge of dried blood off my jawline. His touch was shockingly warm against my freezing skin.
"Pack what you need, Maya," he said softly. "The war just started."
