Chapter 7 - Reckoning
Gunfire erupted in the dark, bright muzzle flashes illuminating the concrete garage like lightning strikes.
Mireia reacted instantly. Dropping low, she kicked Caleb square in the knee with all her force. Caleb shrieked, collapsing onto the concrete. She scrambled behind a thick concrete pillar, heart hammering against her ribs.
Darius moved through the dark like a specter.
He didn't take cover. He advanced.
Every shot from his weapon was precise, deadly, and efficient. Moretti’s hired men went down one by one before they could even aim their flashlights. The cold, legendary violence of the Villano family was on full display, brutal and unyielding.
Within two minutes, the gunfire stopped.
The garage was silent again, saved for the groans of wounded men and the heavy dripping of water.
Caleb was crawling on his hands and knees toward the exit, blood dripping from his nose, weeping hysterically. "Please! Please don't kill me! It was Moretti's idea! I didn't want to hurt her!"
A heavy leather boot came down on Caleb’s hand, crushing his fingers into the concrete.
Caleb screamed.
Darius stood over him, reloading his pistol with practiced, terrifying ease. He didn't even look at Caleb as he spoke. "Mireia. Are you hurt?"
Mireia stepped out from behind the pillar, adjusting her coat. Her hands were shaking slightly, but her eyes were cold. "I'm fine, Darius."
Darius looked down at Caleb. "He touched you."
"He did," Mireia said, walking over. She stood beside Darius, looking down at the man who had tormented her emotions for six years.
Caleb looked up at her from the floor, tears and blood streaming down his face. "Mireia... please... tell him to stop! I loved you! We were going to get married!"
"You never loved me," Mireia said, her voice completely devoid of warmth. "You loved control. And now you have nothing."
Darius snapped his fingers. Four of his top lieutenants emerged from the darkness, grabbing Caleb by his collar and hauling him to his feet.
"Take him to the harbor district police headquarters," Darius commanded coldly. "Deliver him directly to Federal Prosecutor Rossi along with the evidence of his syndicate collusion. He will spend the rest of his life in a federal penitentiary."
Caleb wept as he was dragged away, his screams fading into the dark garage depth until there was only silence.
Darius turned to Mireia. The dangerous, deadly aura around him vanished instantly as he stepped close, reaching out to gently touch her cheek. "Did he hurt you?"
Mireia looked up into his dark, intense eyes. She felt safe. Truly safe, for the first time in her life.
May you like
"No," she whispered. "Because you came."
"I will always come," Darius replied, his voice rough with emotion. "You are mine to protect, Mireia. Always."
