Chapter 5 - Unmasking the Traitor
The second floor hallway of the Gramercy brownstone smelled of acrid gunpowder, ozone, and copper.
Three hitmen wearing black tactical gear and night-vision goggles lay dead across the Persian rug near the parlor door. Mateo stood behind a overturned oak dining table, reloading his submachine gun with blood dripping from a graze on his forearm.
Luca stepped over the fallen bodies, his weapon raised, his eyes sweeping the dark corridor.
At the end of the hallway, pinned against the heavy steel emergency bulkhead that Elena had dropped from the basement console, was a surviving gunman. He was clutching a shattered knee, his tactical helmet knocked askew.
Luca walked up to the groaning man, pressed the barrel of his gun against the hitman’s forehead, and pulled off his tactical mask.
It was a face Luca recognized: Keller, one of Dominic Valenti’s private bodyguards.
"Keller," Luca said softly. "My uncle sent you."
"Luca... please..." Keller gasped, blood bubbling at the corner of his mouth. "Dominic told us... he said you’d gone crazy over the accountant... he said Mercer was taking the city if we didn't eliminate the girl..."
"Where is Dominic right now?" Luca asked, his voice deathly cold.
"At... at the private lounge on 4th Street," Keller wept. "He’s meeting Mercer’s consigliere to finalize the harbor transfer..."
Luca stood up. He didn't waste a bullet. He looked at Mateo.
"Clean this up," Luca ordered. "Secure Caroline and the boy. We are going to 4th Street."
Ten minutes later, Luca returned to the basement.
Elena was sitting at the desk, a small 9mm pistol—which Luca had left for her—resting beside her trembling hand. When she saw him walk in covered in drywall dust and dark stains, she let out a long, shuddering breath.
"It’s over upstairs," Luca said, walking over to her. He reached out, lifting her face by her chin, checking her eyes. "Are you hurt?"
"No," she whispered. "Did you find out who let them in?"
"It was Dominic," Luca said. "He gave Keller the security bypass codes thirty minutes ago."
Elena looked down at her hands. "What are you going to do?"
"What should have been done five years ago," Luca said. "He betrayed the family. He put your sister and nephew in danger. He tried to destroy everything we built."
"Luca..." Elena stood up, stepping close to him until her chest touched his dark coat. She looked up into his dark, ruthless face. "Don't let him turn you into a monster. Kill him because he’s a traitor to your empire, not because you're angry for me."
Luca stared down at her. His hand moved from her chin to the back of her neck, his fingers tangling softly in her dark hair.
"Elena," he murmured, his thumb brushing across her lower lip. "You still don't understand."
"Understand what?"
"I built an empire so no one could ever command me," Luca said softly, his voice thick with raw, dangerous truth. "But if someone touches you... I will burn this city to the ground and rule over the ashes. That isn't madness, my sweet auditor. That’s devotion."
Before she could answer, he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers.
The kiss was deep, possessive, and hard—filled with the adrenaline of the gunfight and the overwhelming relief that she was still breathing. Elena gasped against his mouth, her arms instinctively wrapping around his neck, pulling him closer as the cold terror of the night melted into searing heat.
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When he pulled back, both of their breaths were ragged.
"Stay here with Mateo," Luca commanded softly, his eyes burning like dark stars. "I have an uncle to execute."
