Chapter 14 - The Race Against Time
A suffocating wave of pure, unadulterated terror crashed over me, freezing the breath in my lungs.
Damian didn't hesitate for a single microsecond.
In one lightning-fast motion, he fired a single, perfectly aimed round that shattered Moretti’s whiskey glass against the wall, sending the syndicate boss crashing backward over the desk at gunpoint.
“Marco!” Damian roared into his encrypted comms device, his voice echoing with primal fury.
“Lock down the manor! Code Black! Execute perimeter defense protocol alpha right now!”
“Boss!” Marco’s voice crackled back through the earpiece, frantic and breathless.
“We intercepted an encrypted transmission from Cross three minutes ago! The team at the manor was a decoy! They’re not hitting the house—they’re hitting the private children’s medical clinic downtown where Luca is scheduled for his post-trauma checkup!”
My heart stopped.
Luca wasn't safe at the manor. He was out in the open city.
Damian turned on his heel, grabbing my hand with a grip so fierce it nearly bruised my bones.
“We ride,” he commanded, his face carved from pure, unyielding vengeance.
We sprinted down the metal stairs, bursting out into the freezing rain just as Marco pulled the lead SUV screeching to a halt before us.
The vehicle tore out of the railway yards, its tires screaming against the wet asphalt as it vaulted onto the interstate toward downtown Chicago at breakneck speed.
Inside the speeding vehicle, Damian’s fingers flew across his secure tablet, tapping into the city’s traffic grid and police dispatch channels.
“They’re cornering his medical transport near the West Loop overpass,” Damian growled, his jaw locked in cold rage.
“If a single hair on my son’s head is harmed, I will personally burn Moretti’s entire empire to ash and salt the earth where it stood.”
I reached across the console, placing my hand firmly over his clenched fist.
“We’ll make it in time, Damian,” I said, my voice carrying an ironclad certainty that seemed to cut through his frantic panic.
May you like
“We have to.”
As the SUV vaulted off the highway ramp and into the brightly lit city streets, the glowing neon sign of the children's medical center came into view—alongside two black vans blocking the ambulance bay.
