Chapter 7
The cemetery was dead silent as Nina stared at the hand extended toward her. The refined artistic tattoos with their generous negative space seemed to offer both a promise of absolute protection and a tether to a deeply dangerous world. She looked from Conrad’s broad, powerful shoulders down to Molly, who was watching her with large, hopeful eyes.
"I will come with you," Nina whispered, placing her slender, delicate hand into his.
His grip was warm, firm, and instantly grounding. He did not let go as the minister quickly concluded the service, intimidated by the ring of armed mafia soldiers surrounding the grave.
As the first shovel of dirt hit the casket, Conrad gently guided Nina away. "Shall we proceed to the vehicles?" he asked, his voice low and commanding.
They walked across the bright, sunlit grass toward the waiting armored SUVs. The air felt unnaturally still, the soft elegant warmth of the morning suddenly feeling heavy with unspoken tension. Conrad’s observant eyes constantly scanned the tree line, his highly tuned instincts searching for anomalies.
They reached the center SUV. One of the operatives opened the heavy, bulletproof rear door. Nina helped Molly climb into the back seat, then turned to step in after her.
Before she could move, the sharp, deafening crack of a high-powered rifle echoed across the rolling hills of the cemetery.
The operative standing next to the door collapsed instantly, a spray of crimson hitting the side of the pristine black vehicle.
"Get down!" Conrad roared, abandoning his interrogative dialogue in a raw, explosive command of survival.
He lunged forward, grabbing Nina by the waist of her black dress and hauling her violently to the ground, throwing his massive, muscular frame entirely over her to shield her from the incoming fire.
The tranquil graveyard erupted into absolute chaos. The bright, luminous morning was torn apart by the rhythmic, deafening stutter of automatic weapons. Victor Price’s men had staged an ambush, emerging from the tree line and opening fire on the convoy.
Conrad’s soldiers returned fire instantly, using the armored SUVs as cover. The air was thick with the smell of gunpowder and pulverized gravestones.
Nina lay pinned beneath Conrad’s chest, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. She could feel the heavy, solid muscle of his chest and the rapid, controlled beat of his heart. His hands were gripping her shoulders, pressing her firmly into the grass.
"Are you hit?" Conrad asked, his voice shouting directly into her ear over the deafening roar of the gunfight.
"No!" Nina screamed back, her expressive brows drawn together in terror. "Molly! Where is Molly?"
"Is she not inside the armored cabin?" Conrad asked, pulling a heavy, customized handgun from the shoulder holster beneath his tailored jacket.
He rolled slightly off Nina, keeping his body between her and the tree line. He raised his weapon and fired three rapid, precise shots. A sniper in the distance tumbled from the branches of a large oak tree.
"Move into the vehicle!" Conrad commanded, grabbing the handle of the open door. "Will you stay on the floorboards?"
Nina scrambled up, her slender figure moving with desperate speed. She threw herself into the back seat of the SUV, immediately grabbing Molly and pulling the screaming child down onto the floor, covering the three-year-old with her own body.
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Conrad slid in right behind her, slamming the heavy armored door shut. The thick bulletproof glass immediately began to spiderweb under the hail of incoming bullets, but it held firm.
"Drive!" Conrad ordered the operative behind the wheel. "Will you run them down if they block the exit?"
