Chapter 6
The safe room was buried three levels deep beneath the mansion, accessible only via a hidden elevator and a heavy titanium vault door. Inside, the space was utilitarian but comfortable, furnished with a leather sofa, thick blankets, and a small cot.
Silas ushered Laurel and Phoebe into the secure room. The heavy silence of the underground bunker was a stark contrast to the nervous energy humming through the rest of the estate. Phoebe immediately climbed onto the leather sofa, pulling a thick blanket up to her chin, her wide eyes reflecting her fear.
Laurel stood near the center of the room, her black maid dress looking out of place in the military-grade bunker. She wrapped her arms around her waist, her heart pounding.
"Will you be comfortable down here, Laurel?" Silas asked, his deep voice echoing slightly off the steel walls.
"We will be fine, Mr. Beaumont," Laurel replied, her delicate cheekbones pale in the fluorescent light. She took a step toward him. "But what about you? Are you going to be safe?"
"Do you worry for my safety, Laurel, or do you worry about what the Sterlings will do if they breach the house?" Silas asked, stopping just a few feet away from her.
"Can't it be both?" Laurel answered softly, looking up into his cold, observant eyes. "You broke a massive alliance tonight. A treaty that took years to build. And you did it for a maid."
"Did you think I valued a piece of paper over the flesh and blood of the people in my care?" Silas asked. He reached out, his fingers gently brushing a stray lock of dark hair behind her ear. His touch sent a warm, electric jolt straight through her chest.
Laurel’s breath hitched. She looked at the refined tattoos on his hand, then back up to his angular face. "She told me I was entirely replaceable. She said if I complained, I would vanish."
"Does a replaceable woman step in front of a monster to protect another woman's child?" Silas inquired, his voice dropping to a low, incredibly intimate whisper.
Before Laurel could find the breath to answer, the heavy radio clipped to Silas's belt crackled to life with sudden, violent static.
"Boss! We have incoming!" Marcus's voice yelled over the radio. "Three armored transports just smashed through the outer wrought-iron gates! They're heavily armed! They're making a hard push for the front doors!"
Silas did not flinch. His expression immediately hardened, the brief moment of tenderness vanishing behind the impenetrable mask of a warlord.
"Are the entry points heavily fortified, Marcus?" Silas asked calmly into his shoulder mic.
"We're holding them at the steps, but they brought heavy suppressive fire! We need you up here!"
Silas unclipped the radio and looked down at Laurel. "Will you lock this vault door the absolute second I step outside, Laurel?"
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"Please be careful," Laurel whispered fiercely, grabbing his hand with both of hers, completely ignoring the pain in her bruised wrist.
"Have I ever failed to return to the things that belong to me?" Silas asked. He offered her one last, lingering look, then turned and strode out of the vault. Laurel immediately slammed her weight against the heavy lever, throwing the massive deadbolts into place, sealing herself and Phoebe in the silent dark.
