Chapter 10 - Shadows Over Saint Jude's Hospital
The gunshot cracked through the wet night air like thunder.
The recoil bucked against my wrists, sending a shockwave up my arms. The bullet caught the gunman in the right shoulder, spinning him violently off-balance. His shotgun blast fired wildly into the sky, tearing a hole through the rusted metal of an overhead shipping container.
Before he could recover, Gabriel spun on his heel and put two clean rounds through the man’s center mass.
The hitman collapsed into the standing water, lifeless.
Silence fell over the container yard, broken only by the steady patter of heavy rain against steel crates and the frantic wheezing of Dante, who was limping out from behind the scarred Suburban, holding a bleeding wound in his side.
Gabriel lowered his weapon, his chest heaving. His dark hair was soaked with rain, sticking to his forehead. He turned slowly, looking at me where I stood behind the open car door, the small pistol still smoking in my trembling hands.
There was complete shock in his eyes, followed immediately by an emotion so dark and fiercely possessive it made my knees buckle.
He crossed the distance between us in three long strides, snatched the gun from my frozen fingers, and pulled me violently against his chest. His arms wrapped around me like steel bands, shielding me from the carnage around us.
"You're out of your mind," he muttered into my wet hair, his voice rough and ragged with raw adrenaline. "You could have been killed."
"I... I shot him," I stammered, my teeth chattering as the shock hit my nervous system. "I shot a man."
"You saved my life," Gabriel whispered, lifting my face with his thumb and forefinger, forcing me to look into his intense, burning gaze. "Again."
A weak voice called out from the back of the Suburban.
"Harper?"
I ripped myself out of Gabriel’s arms and stumbled toward the rear door of the armored truck.
Dante hit the unlock switch. The heavy steel door swung open.
Leo was huddled on the rear leather seat, wearing hospital scrubs and a heavy down jacket, his broken arm wrapped in a fresh white fiberglass cast. His eyes were wide with disbelief as he looked at my soaked emerald gown, the Kevlar vest strapped to my chest, and the six-carat diamond ring glittering on my finger.
"Harper? What... what is going on?" Leo choked out, tears welling in his eyes as he threw his good arm around my neck. "Who are these people? Who is that guy?"
I held my brother tightly, burying my face into his shoulder, sobbing with pure, unadulterated relief. He was alive. His pulse was beating strong against my cheek.
"It’s okay, Leo," I cried, stroking his wet hair. "It’s over. You're safe now."
"He isn't safe yet," Gabriel’s deep voice interrupted from behind us.
Gabriel stood beside Dante, applying a field dressing to his lieutenant’s bleeding side. His face had hardened back into an unyielding mask of war.
"This ambush wasn't an isolated hit," Gabriel said, looking down at the dead men scattered across the asphalt. "Luciano pulled his forces from Queens and Brooklyn for this strike. Which means their headquarters at the Greenpoint distillery is undefended right now."
Dante looked up, grimacing through the pain. "You want to strike back tonight, Boss?"
"Tonight we end it," Gabriel said coldly. "Marcus! Bring the medical transport. Take Harper and Leo back to the New Jersey safehouse. Put thirty men on the perimeter. If so much as a crow lands on the fence, blow it out of the sky."
"Wait," I said, stepping between Gabriel and his car, clutching Leo’s hand. "Where are you going?"
Gabriel looked down at me. In the dim reflection of the amber harbor lights, his dark eyes burned with an icy, lethal fire.
"Victoria Hayes is at the Greenpoint distillery, Harper," Gabriel said softly. "She’s waiting for news of my death. I’m going to deliver the answer in person."
He reached out, his thumb gently wiping a tear from my cold cheek.
"Stay with your brother," he murmured, his touch lingering against my skin, sending a warm, forbidden heat through the cold rain. "When I return by dawn, the debt will be settled. And no one will ever hunt you again."
May you like
Before I could reply, he turned, stepped into the black Charger, and sped off into the stormy night, leaving me standing in the rain with the ghost of his promises burning against my soul.
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