Chapter 5 - The Trap Springs Open
“Where are we going?” I demanded, rushing down the hallway toward my suite as Dante Russo materialized out of the shadows like a ghost.
“No questions, Miss Vance. Just pack what you need for forty-eight hours,” Dante said tersely, his hand resting on the grip of the Glock concealed beneath his suit jacket. “The perimeter sensors at the ground-floor loading bay just tripped. Someone got past the primary firewall.”
Panic seized my chest. I threw open my closet, grabbed a duffel bag, and shoved in a handful of clothes, my hands shaking so badly I could barely zip it shut.
When I ran back out into the main living room, Ricardo was already waiting. He had traded his suit jacket for a heavy black tactical vest over a black turtleneck, and a heavy-caliber Sig Sauer pistol was strapped securely to a holster beneath his arm.
He looked terrifying. He looked like an executioner.
In his arms, wrapped in a blanket with his eyes wide and uncomprehending, was Leo.
“Clara, take his hand,” Ricardo commanded, his voice tight and breathless as he rushed toward the private elevator.
“Is someone here?” Leo whimpered, burying his face in Ricardo’s shoulder. “Daddy, I’m scared.”
“You’re safe, bug. Daddy’s got you,” Ricardo lied smoothly, though his eyes told a completely different story.
We piled into the private elevator. Instead of descending to the ground floor parking garage, Ricardo punched a combination of buttons that initiated a secondary, hidden override sequence. The elevator didn't go down—it dropped beneath the basement level, descending rapidly into the subterranean depths of the building.
“Where are we going?” I asked again, clutching Leo’s small hand as the metal car hummed with vibration.
“To an off-grid safehouse in the Hudson Valley,” Ricardo said, his eyes fixed on the digital floor numbers ticking downward. “Someone leaked our internal security codes. That means someone inside my own organization has been compromised.”
The elevator doors ground open with a metallic clatter, revealing a damp, concrete subterranean loading tunnel lit by flickering fluorescent bulbs. A matte-black armored Suburban idled with its engine roaring, exhaust billowing into the cold air.
Dante rushed out first, sweeping the area with his weapon drawn. “All clear, boss! Move!”
Ricardo scooped me closer by the elbow, guiding me rapidly toward the open door of the SUV.
Just as my foot touched the running board, the lights in the tunnel suddenly blew out in a shower of blue sparks.
Bang!
A deafening gunshot echoed off the concrete walls, followed by the shattering of bulletproof glass as a round punched straight through the driver’s side window of the Suburban.
Dante cursed loudly, diving behind a concrete pillar and returning fire with a rapid, deafening burst from his submachine gun.
“Ambush!” Dante roared over the din. “Get down!”
Ricardo didn't hesitate. He shoved Leo and me into the footwell of the backseat, throwing his massive, muscular frame directly over us to shield our bodies with his own.
Bullets whined off the armored steel exterior of the SUV like angry hornets. The acrid smell of gunpowder and burning rubber instantly choked the air.
“Ricardo!” I screamed, clinging to the back of his tactical vest as another volley of gunfire hammered the roof. “You’re exposed!”
“Shut up and keep your head down!” he ordered fiercely, his hand pressing my face down against the floor mat.
Footsteps crunched heavily on the gravel outside. Through the shattered side window, I saw shadowy figures advancing through the smoke, holding assault rifles with tactical suppressors.
“Boss! They’re flanking from the utility corridor!” Dante shouted over the gunfire, firing another controlled burst before his weapon clicked dry. “We’re pinned!”
Ricardo’s jaw tightened into an iron bar. He reached down to his hip, pulled a spare magazine from his tactical belt, and slammed it into his pistol with practiced, deadly efficiency.
“Clara,” Ricardo whispered, his dark eyes locking onto mine through the haze of smoke, fierce and agonizingly tender all at once.
“What? What are you doing?”
“If we don't make it out of this tunnel, I need you to take Leo through the drainage hatch behind the back seat,” Ricardo said, his voice dropping into a heartbreakingly calm directive. “It leads directly to the subway line two blocks over. Don't look back. Don't stop running.”
“No! I’m not leaving you!” I cried out, grabbing the lapel of his vest.
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“Listen to me!” Ricardo shouted, his voice cracking with raw emotion. “You are his mother now in every way that matters! Protect my son!”
Before I could argue, Ricardo kicked open the battered door of the Suburban, raised his weapon, and charged straight out into the line of fire, roaring a battle cry that made the walls shake.
