Chapter 40 – Safe House
Lucia
The first bullet shattered the dining room window during descent, transforming an ordinary family moment into crystallized chaos. The sound lingered in the air like broken music, a discordant note in our carefully orchestrated lives.
Julia’s scream pierced the silence that followed, raw and primal in a way that made my chest ache. I watched her hands move instinctively to protect her still hidden pregnancy, the gesture somehow more devastating than her fear. Sofia was already moving, gaire Romano instinct making her shirld her eldest sister while reaching for Maria with her other hand. Sweet, innocent Maria – the baby of the family who should never have to know this kind of fear – stared at the spiderweb patterns blooming across bulletproof glass with horrified foxcination
“Down!” Dante’s command cut through the chans as more shoes followed, his voice carrying that edge of authority that seemed coded into Romano
coded in DNA. He moved with lethal grace, already reaching for the gum I knew he carried beneath his perfectly sailored jacket. The weapon should have looked wrong with his aristocratic bearing, hus politician’s polish, tead, it seemed like an extension of him – another facet of the complex man I was learning to understand. “Taylor, get them to-
to me. Countless hours of preparation
“The sisters go to Echo Point,” I en in my mind racing though contingencies we’d planned but hoped never to me. crystallized into sharp clarity as adrenaline sharpened my senses. Full blackout protocol”
Dante’s eyes met mine across the chaos, something flickering in their depths that made my heart stutter despite the situation. “You know about Echo
Pous!
“I know everything.” I was already moving, gouging angles and exits with the precision my brothers had drilled into me since childhood. Each step calculated, each motion precise. The weight of my own concealed weapon pressed against my riba, a reininder that I was more than just the perfect polinical wife. “Your security chief and I had a long talk after the museum incider.”“”
A ghost of a smile touched his lips despite the situation pride and something darker warning his expression “Of course you did.”
More shots peppered the windows each impact making the bulletproof glass shudder. The protection wouldn’t hold forever it wasn’t designed to Just to buy tame, to create precious moments for escape and reaction.
“You can’t send them alone.” Dance started, but I was already ahead of him, the way I’d learned to be over these months of partnership.
“I’m going with them.” At his sharp look, Ladded. “You seed to handle this publicly. Show strength, main control. But they need protection from someone who thinks like family. My voice caught slightly on that last word, heavy with implications neither of us was ready to face
“And you do?” His voice carried an edge I couldn’t quite interpret – challenge, doubt, or maybe hope. Think like family
“You know I do. The words came out softer than imended.
“Five minutes,” he said finally, the words clipped but his eyes saying more. “Get what you need Taylor’s team will
“Already packed.” I met his raised eyebrow with a dight shrug, enjoying how my preparedness still managed to surprise him. The had go bags ready since the first threat. One in each sister’s room, coordinated with security rotations and-”
His kiss cut me off–hard, desperate, nothing like our usual careful performance. His hands tangled in my hair as ballets continued to strike glass, as chaos erupted around us, as everything threatened to shatter. I tasted fear and pride and something dangerously close to
No I couldn’t think that word. Not now.
“Be careful,” he breathed against my lips, his usual control cracking just enough to show real emotion. “Be-”
“I know I pushed him toward the door where his security rear waited, clicir faces professionally blank despite witnessing this moment of vulnerability. “Go Be the Romans heir they need to ser. Show strength”
“And what will you be showing!”
My smile held shadows and promises. That I’m exactly the wife you needed”
The next hour passed in controlled chaos, a ballet of violence and precision I’d been trained for since childhood. Taylor’s teams moved with military efficiency, getting us to unmarked cars through underground tunnels Hadn’t known existed beneath the Romano estate, The sisters stayed quiet, years of fairly training kicking in despite their fear,
Julia sat beside me in the armored SUV, her hand still curved protectively over her stomach. Tim sorry,” she whispered as we wound through back roads designed for escape. “This is my fault. The pregnancy, the seasdal risks
“No.“I caught her hand, squeezing gently. “This is bigger than that. Someone’s making a play for power, using any excuse they can find. Your baby is Just convenient timing for them”
“You sound like Dante.” Sofia observed from the back seat, her usual vibrant energy sub–lard but not broken. “All strategy and angles”
“She sounds like a Romano,” Maria corrected softly
Echo Porn turned out to be a modernist fortress disguised as a luxury vacation home, perched on cliffs overlooking the ocean. Every window was Bulletproof, every entrance monitored, every angle considered by people who made paranoia an art form. Money and power had been transformed into protection through careful arcesecture and cutting–edge technology.
“The panic room is through here,” Taylor explained as we toured security y measures, his usual professional demeanor softened slightly by familiarity. “Though the whole house is essentially-
“A fortress.” Istudied blueprints on my tables, already noting adjustments needed. The Romino security was food, but years of Valentini training
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Chapter 40 – Safe House
had taught me to see weaknesses others missed. “The southeast comer needs another camera. And the staff entrance—”
“Already handled.” He smiled slightly, a rare break in his stoic facade. “Mr. Romano said you’d notice that”
Of course he did. He noticed everything about me now, just as I’d learned to read has tells and anticipate his thoughts. Somewhere between contract and crisis, we’d become attuned to each other in ways that went beyond any political arrangement.
Hours stretched to days, each moment a careful balance of vigilance and attempted normalcy. Froordinated with security teams, managed the Listers‘ fears, and tried not to think about Dante facing threats alone. His calls came at odd hours–voice rough with exhaustion but carrying that note of control that meant he was handling things.
“The Chen family claims no involvement,” he reported on day three, the Eamiliar cadence of his voice making my chest ache with something refused to name. But their demal was too quick, 100-
“Rehearsed,” I finished, the way we’d leaned to complete each other’s thoughts. “They re playing both sides. Waiting to see who comes out
“My clever wile.” Pride colored his voice, genuine warmth breaking through his careful control. “Always three steps ahead.” “Someone has to be.” I kept my tone light despite the weight in my chest, the way I missed his physical presence like a phantom limb. “The sisters are safe. Julia’s moming sickness is easing Sofin’s designed as entire summer collection from the safe house studio. And Mana=”
A crash from the kitchen interrupted wharver I’d planned to say. More sounds followed–breaking glass, a muffled cry, the distinctive sound ofa gunbring cocked. My pulse jumped as training kicked in, mind already calculating angles and options.
“Lucia!” Dante’s voice sharpened, reading the change in my breathing. “What was that?
“Probably nothing.” But my hand was already reaching for the weapon strapped under the desk, familiar weight offering cold comfon. Just the sister getting restless-
Another crash Closer this time. Too deliberate to be accident, too precise to be coincidence.
“Lucia “Real fear colored his voice now, breaking through years of careful control “Get to the panic room. Now, I’m calling Taylor—*
“Cant.” I moved silently toward the door, phone pressed to my ear as I calculated angles and escape routes. “He’s doing perimeter sweep. Won’t be back for=”
The study door burst open with enough force to crack wood.
Three men in tactical gear moved with professional precision, weapons raised. Don their eyes gave them away too elger, too amateur. Hired guns. not furuly soldiers. Dangerous in their inexperience, deadly in their desperation to prove themselves
“Found the waters,” one reported into a radio, his accent marking bem as Eastern European muscle. Plus Romano’s wife. Looks like we hit the
I didn’t let him rith
The lamp hur his face withstying force as I dove for cover, the expensive Tiffany glass shattering along with his nose. My first shot caught another in the knee before he could aim, his cry of pain oddly unsying. The land managed to fire, but his bullet hit wood as I rolled behind the desk. “Lurial” Dante’s voice carried real panit now, the kind ever heard from him before. “What’s happening? Talk to me!”
“Little busy, caro,” Ilised up another shot as footsteps pounded down the hallway reinforcements coming, more threats to handle. “Maybe call
Movement in my
in my peripheral vision. A fourth man, coming from
The impact caught me by surprise, sending my phone skittering across marble floon. The last thing I heard was Dante’s voice, desperate and raw
“LUCIA
Then darkness claimed me, and even his voice faded to silence.
