Chapter 8 - THE HELIPAD SHOWDOWN
“They won't make it off my property,” Luca growled into the phone.
He handed his spare firearm to me, checking the safety.
“Can you shoot this if you have to?” he asked seriously.
I swallowed hard, my hands trembling as I gripped the cold steel.
“Yes.”
“Good. Stay here with two of my loyal guards who are stationed outside the door. I'm going to the roof.”
“Luca, it's a trap,” I pleaded.
“I know,” he replied, giving me a fierce, determined look.
“That's why I'm springing it.”
He turned and sprinted down the corridor toward the spiral staircase leading to the roof.
I stood by the bedroom door, guarding Oliver with the gun held awkwardly in my sweaty palms.
Minutes felt like hours.
The wind howled through the broken windows downstairs.
Then, a massive roar of helicopter blades vibrated through the entire mansion.
They were trying to lift off.
I couldn't just stay here and wait.
“Oliver, stay right here under the bed,” I ordered.
“Emily, no!” Oliver cried.
“I have to make sure your father is safe,” I said firmly, rushing out into the hallway.
The guards Luca had promised were unconscious on the floor, knocked out by a chemical gas.
I coughed, covering my nose with my sleeve, and climbed the winding metal stairs toward the roof access door.
The door was blown off its hinges.
Wind whipped my hair across my face as I stepped out onto the cold, wet concrete helipad.
A black helicopter hovered feet above the ground, its landing gear shaking.
Luca stood in the center of the blinding rotor wash.
He was locked in brutal hand-to-hand combat with a massive Bellini enforcer.
A few feet away, Vanessa stood near the open cabin door, watching in horror.
She saw me holding the gun.
Her eyes widened in pure malice.
May you like
She lunged toward a dropped rifle on the concrete.
Cliffhanger: Vanessa grabbed the assault rifle, aimed it directly at Luca's back while he was distracted, and pulled the trigger just as I screamed his name.
