Chapter 6 - MIDNIGHT RESCUE
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I ducked low beneath the dashboard, my hands clasped tightly over my ears.
Glass shattered across the pavement outside.
Luca moved with the precision of a trained apex predator.
Through the rain-streaked window, I saw two armed men in dark raincoats turn their weapons toward him.
Luca did not hesitate.
Three rapid gunshots cut through the thunder.
Both attackers collapsed onto the wet concrete before they could even squeeze their triggers.
Luca vaulted over the hood of the crushed sedan and kicked open the front entrance of the building.
I couldn't stay in the car.
Terror for my mother propelled my legs forward.
I scrambled out of the passenger seat, ignoring the freezing rain that instantly soaked through my uniform dress.
I sprinted through the shattered glass doors of the lobby.
The air inside smelled of acrid gunsmoke and plaster dust.
One of Luca’s private security guards was kneeling behind the mailboxes, clutching a bleeding shoulder.
“Boss!” the guard shouted over the alarm bells.
“Two of them went up the back fire escape!”
Luca was already taking the concrete stairs three at a time.
I chased after him, adrenaline numbing every muscle in my body.
We reached the third floor.
Apartment 3B’s wooden door had been splintered open with a crowbar.
Inside the small living room, a man wearing a ski mask was dragging my mother by her injured arm.
My mother was screaming, kicking weakly at the linoleum floor.
“Mom!” I shrieked.
The masked man turned, raising a sawed-off shotgun directly at my chest.
Before he could pull the trigger, Luca barreled into the room like a freight train.
Luca grabbed the barrel of the shotgun, redirecting the blast into the ceiling plaster.
With a ferocious roar, Luca drove his elbow into the man’s jaw.
The sickening sound of breaking bone echoed in the tiny kitchen.
The intruder crumpled to the floor, motionless.
The second intruder burst out of the bedroom, but Luca spun and fired a single round into his shoulder, pinning him against the wall.
The man dropped his weapon and surrendered, groaning in agony.
Luca stood in the center of the ruined apartment, his chest heaving, his dark hair soaked with rain.
I threw myself onto the floor beside my mother.
“Mom! Mom, are you okay?”
Clara Hayes looked up at me through tear-filled eyes, trembling violently.
“Emma... oh god, Emma!” she cried, wrapping her good arm around my neck.
“Men with guns broke down the door... they said they were taking me to Marco!”
Luca holstered his weapon and knelt down beside us.
His terrifying aura vanished instantly, replaced by gentle concern.
“Mrs. Hayes,” Luca said softly, his voice calming the hysterical room.
“My name is Luca Moretti.”
My mother looked at him in terror, recognizing the powerful name immediately.
“Are you hurt anywhere else, ma’am?” Luca asked gently.
“No... just my shoulder,” my mother whispered, clutching her side.
Luca reached down and effortlessly lifted my mother into his arms, carrying her as if she weighed nothing at all.
May you like
“Let’s get you home,” Luca said, looking over at me.
“Both of you.”
