Chapter 8
The center of the heavy steel door melted away in a shower of brilliant, terrifying white sparks. The Shaw mercenaries kicked the weakened metal, sending the door crashing inward. Thick, acrid smoke poured into the pristine bunker.
Tessa didn't hesitate. As the first heavily armed mercenary stepped through the breach, his assault rifle raised, she squeezed the handle of the fire extinguisher. A massive, blinding cloud of thick white chemical foam blasted directly into the man's face.
He shrieked in surprise, stumbling backward and firing his weapon wildly into the ceiling. The deafening roar of the gun in the enclosed space made Rosie scream in terror.
Tessa hurled the heavy metal cylinder with all her remaining strength. It struck the blinded mercenary squarely in the chest, knocking him flat on his back. But there were three more men behind him.
The second mercenary stepped through the smoke, wiping foam from his tactical goggles. He leveled his weapon directly at Tessa.
"End of the line, bitch," he snarled.
Before his finger could twitch on the trigger, a shadow descended upon the hallway outside the bunker with the speed and brutality of an apex predator.
Julian Mercer crashed into the mercenary from behind. The mafia boss didn't bother shooting; he drove a combat knife deep into the side of the man’s neck. The mercenary dropped instantly. Julian ripped the blade free, spinning on his heel to face the remaining two men.
The narrow subterranean corridor became a slaughterhouse. Julian moved with terrifying, lethal grace. He ducked a burst of automatic fire, closing the distance and firing his heavy pistol point-blank into the third man's chest. The fourth mercenary panicked, turning to run, but Julian shot him in the back of the knee, dropping him to the floor, before finishing him with a cold, calculated shot to the head.
The silence that fell over the corridor was heavy, broken only by the crackle of burning metal and Rosie's frantic crying.
Julian dropped his weapons and stepped through the smoking ruin of the vault door. He was covered in soot, his white shirt splattered with blood, his chest heaving. The artistic tattoos on his hands were stark against his pale skin.
He looked at Tessa, who was kneeling behind the metal cabinet, shielding Rosie with her own body.
"Tessa," Julian rasped, his voice raw and broken.
He crossed the room and fell to his knees on the concrete floor, pulling both Tessa and Rosie into a desperate, crushing embrace. He buried his face in Tessa’s neck, his broad shoulders shaking violently as the adrenaline finally crashed out of his system.
"You're safe," Julian choked out, pressing fierce, frantic kisses to her hair, her forehead, and then to Rosie's tear-stained cheeks. "I've got you. I've got you."
"You came," Tessa sobbed, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, burying her fingers in his wavy, swept-back hair. She inhaled the scent of smoke, blood, and his sharp cologne, and it was the most comforting smell in the world.
"I will always come for you," Julian swore, pulling back to look deep into her clear, expressive eyes. The hardened mafia boss was entirely gone, replaced by a man fiercely, desperately in love. "I will burn the world down before I let anyone take you from me."
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Marcus appeared in the ruined doorway, leaning heavily on a rifle, his face grim. "Boss. The house is secure. The Shaw forces are retreating. We won."
Julian stood up, effortlessly pulling Tessa to her feet and scooping Rosie into his arms. "The battle is won, Marcus. But the war doesn't end until Victor Shaw is dead."
