Chapter 5 - Fire on the Shore
The drive from Red Hook to Bay Ridge usually took twenty minutes. My driver cleared the distance in seven, blowing through red lights and weaving through midnight traffic at ninety miles an hour.
My heart was hammering against my ribs like a caged beast. Images of Luca, of his bright smile, of Emma holding her purple crayon, and of Sophia’s brave, warm eyes flashed through my mind. If Carmine touched a single hair on their heads, I would paint the entire state of New York in his syndicate’s blood.
As my SUV slammed through the broken iron gates of the estate, my worst fears were realized.
Two security vehicles at the entrance were ablaze, sending thick black smoke billowing into the night sky. Gunfire echoed from the rear gardens near the sunroom.
“Deploy all units!” I commanded, kicking my door open before the vehicle had even come to a complete stop.
I sprinted toward the main house, sidearm raised, my security team fanning out behind me. We breached the grand foyer, stepping over three of Carmine’s fallen mercenaries who had been taken down by my house guards.
“Alessandro!” Leo’s voice came through my earpiece. “They didn't get the kids! Sophia took them into the old panic cellar beneath the wine pantry! But Carmine’s main strike leader has set fire to the east wing to smoke them out!”
I cursed, charging down the grand marble hallway toward the east wing. Flames were already licking at the velvet drapes, thick, suffocating grey smoke rolling across the ceiling.
I burst into the kitchen, grabbing a heavy fire extinguisher, battering down the burning wooden beam that had collapsed across the cellar door.
“Sophia!” I roared, coughing as smoke filled my lungs. “Sophia! It’s Alessandro! Open the door!”
The heavy iron door clicked, swinging open inch by inch.
Sophia stood inside the threshold holding a heavy steel frying pan, her clothes smeared with soot, her eyes fierce and wide with adrenaline. Behind her, tucked safely inside a reinforced alcove, Luca and Emma were holding hands, terrified but unharmed.
“Alessandro!” Sophia sobbed, dropping the pan and throwing her arms around my neck.
I held her tightly against me, my heart pounding so hard it hurt. I kissed her forehead, her cheeks, pressing her face into my chest. “You’re safe. You’re safe. I’ve got you.”
“They tried to break the lock,” she gasped, looking up at me through tears. “I remembered the hidden lever you showed me in the library. I got the kids down here just as they breached the back patio.”
“You were incredible,” I whispered, turning to gather Luca and Emma into my arms. Luca buried his face in my shoulder, shaking, while Emma held tightly to my coat sleeve.
“Daddy,” Luca whispered. “Is Uncle Marco bad?”
I squeezed my son close, my jaw tightening. “Uncle Marco is gone, buddy. He’ll never hurt us again.”
I handed the children to Frank, who led them safely out through the unburned West Wing toward the security vehicles. But as Sophia turned to follow, a sudden shadow moved in the doorway of the burning pantry.
Carmine Moretti’s top lieutenant—a towering brute named Nikolai—stepped out of the smoke, a heavy tactical knife gleaming in his hand. He lunged directly at Sophia’s back.
“Sophia, look out!” I yelled, shoving her out of the way.
Nikolai’s knife sliced across my left shoulder, cutting through my wool coat and biting deep into the muscle. Pain flared white-hot through my arm, but I didn't falter. I grabbed his wrist, twisting it violently until his bones cracked, slamming him face-first into the burning marble counter.
He stumbled back, reaching for a dropped sidearm on the floor.
Before he could touch it, a heavy bronze candlestick slammed down onto his head with crushing force. Nikolai collapsed, unconscious.
I looked up, stunned.
Sophia stood over him, holding the dented candlestick, her breath coming in ragged gasps. She looked down at the fallen lieutenant, then at me, her hands trembling.
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“Nobody touches my family,” she said fiercely.
Despite the smoke, despite the bleeding wound on my arm, a deep, rumbling laugh escaped my chest. I walked over to her, pulling her gently into my good arm, kissing her deeply as the fire raging around us was brought under control by my men.
