Chapter6
1531 Words
The gun dug into Lucy's temple like an icy brand. Every nerve in her body screamed, her breath catching painfully in her throat.
Austin’s voice cut through the dim room like a razor. “Let her go.”
The masked man laughed, a low, mocking sound that vibrated against Lucy's back. His pale eyes glinted maliciously in the shadows. “That’s cute. You actually think you’re the one in control here, DiMarco.”
Austin’s jaw flexed, the muscles leaping in his cheek. “I don’t think so. I know.”
Lucy’s pulse thundered so loudly it filled her ears. She could feel the intruder’s hot, slow, deliberate breath near her ear, a sick tactic meant to ensure she felt every agonizing second of her own terror.
Clenching her jaw, she forced the words past her trembling lips. “If you’re going to shoot me, just do it. But don’t—”
The man’s grip on her numb wrist snapped tighter, cutting off her breath with a sharp hiss of pain. “Oh no,” he murmured, his voice dripping with venom. “The Phantom wants you alive, sweetheart. Both of you.”
His cold eyes flicked back to Austin.
Austin’s fingers twitched at his sides, the barest tremor betraying the catastrophic storm raging beneath his calm, calculated exterior. “You have exactly five seconds to walk out of here breathing.”
The masked man tilted his head, completely unfazed. “Or what? Will you put a bullet in me? From all the way over there?” He ruthlessly shoved Lucy forward, using her trembling body as a human shield. “I like my odds.”
Austin’s gaze sharpened into lethal focus. He took one deliberate, heavy step forward, the ominous creak of his boot against the concrete echoing in the stifling air. “You shouldn’t.”
The man’s arrogant smirk faltered, just enough for Lucy to catch the sudden flash of doubt in his eyes.
Suddenly, a harsh voice cut in from the hallway. “Three seconds, Marco. Wrap it up!”
Lucy’s stomach dropped. There were more of them.
Austin’s head shifted a mere fraction of an inch toward the sound. It was a split-second distraction, but it was enough. Marco violently yanked Lucy fully against his chest and began backing rapidly toward the threshold.
“Austin!” she gasped.
The barrel pressed brutally into her temple, silencing her. “You’ll see her again,” Marco barked at Austin, a cruel smile returning to his face. “If you’re willing to pay the Phantom's price.”
Austin’s eyes burned into him with unadulterated fury. “You’re not walking out of this room with my wife.”
“Watch me.”
The exact moment Marco’s heel hit the doorway, Austin exploded into motion. A terrifying blur of speed, his hand shot downward, scooping his fallen gun from the concrete, and fired in one seamless motion.
BANG.
Marco tried to spin and drag Lucy with him, but Austin’s target wasn't a kill shot. The bullet tore cleanly through Marco's thigh. The villain roared in agony, his iron grip faltering. Seizing the moment, Lucy wrenched herself free with everything she had, stumbling blindly toward Austin.
Before Austin could pull her behind him, two more masked men lunged into the room, their weapons raised.
“Lucy, the corner!” Austin barked. He grabbed her arm, shoving her safely behind a heavy, overturned steel table before opening fire.
The safe room erupted into a warzone. Bullets sparked violently against the concrete walls, the air instantly filling with the acrid, choking burn of gunpowder. Lucy pressed herself flat against the freezing metal table, covering her ears as the deafening noise echoed all around her.
Through the chaos, she saw Austin drop one intruder with a clean, merciless shot to the chest. The remaining man darted to Marco’s side, hauling the bleeding leader upright despite his mangled leg.
“This isn’t over, DiMarco!” Marco spat, coughing blood.
“Trust me,” Austin growled, his voice deep and predatory, “it’s completely over for you.”
Before Austin could pull the trigger again, a heavy metallic canister rolled across the floor, hissing violently.
Lucy’s eyes widened. “Austin”
“DOWN!” he roared.
An explosion of thick, white smoke filled the room, blinding them and choking their lungs in a toxic haze. Shadows moved rapidly in the fog, retreating out into the corridor.
Austin’s hand closed around hers in the blindness, yanking her upright. “Stay with me!”
They burst out of the safe room into a side maintenance hallway, their frantic footsteps echoing against the walls. Lucy's lungs burned. “Where—” she coughed violently, “where are we going? They’re leaving!”
“No,” Austin’s voice was sharp, cutting through the dark as he pulled her along. “They don’t leave without what they came for. That smoke was just a cover. They’re repositioning to cut us off.”
He shoved her into a pitch-black maintenance closet, slamming the heavy door shut behind them to hide their trail.
As they stood in the suffocating dark, the adrenaline turning into cold reality, Lucy’s chest tightened. She looked toward the shadow of the man beside her. “You knew the Phantom would come tonight,” she whispered, her voice trembling with a sudden, horrible realization.
Silence stretched between them.
“You brought me to this gala knowing I was bait,” she accused, tears of betrayal finally stinging her eyes.
Austin’s hand found her arm in the dark, his grip firm. “I brought you here because I needed to control the field, Lucy. I needed to see who the traitors were.”
“Control?” her voice cracked, rich with emotion. “Austin, I nearly had my head blown off!”
“You think I don’t know that?” His tone dropped to a dangerous, raw register, a terrifying vulnerability bleeding through his rigid exterior. “You think I’m not calculating every single angle to keep you breathing? You are the asset they want, Lucy. Protecting you is the only strategy that matters to me.”
Before she could process the weight of his words, the closet door handle rattled violently.
Austin’s gun was raised instantly. He pressed a single, warm finger to her lips, silencing her.
The rattle came again, harder, followed by a heavy, breathless silence. Lucy’s heart pounded so violently she was certain whoever was outside could hear it.
“When I say run, you run,” Austin whispered against her ear.
CRASH.
The door exploded inward, splintering into pieces. A man filled the frame, taller, broader than the others, and completely unmasked. In the faint light of the hallway, his eyes gleamed a striking, predatory silver.
“Austin DiMarco,” the silver-eyed man said smoothly, his voice entirely calm despite the chaos. “The Phantom sends his regards… and his final instructions.”
Austin didn’t lower his weapon by an inch. “Which are?”
The man’s silver gaze flicked coldly to Lucy. “She comes with me. You stay here.”
“Not happening,” Lucy snapped, finding her courage.
The man let out a faint, humorless smirk. “You don’t get a vote, little Bennett.”
Austin stepped entirely in front of her, shielding her body with his own. “You’ll have to go through me.”
“Gladly.”
The silver-eyed man moved in a terrifying blur of motion. Austin fired, but the man dodged, slamming his massive frame into Austin and throwing him against the concrete wall with bone-crunching force. The gun clattered out of Austin's hand.
“Austin!” Lucy screamed.
Austin fought back like a cornered wolf, throwing a brutal punch to the man's jaw, but the giant barely flinched. He threw Austin to the floor, pinning him down as his massive hand clamped tightly around Austin’s throat, cutting off his air.
“The Phantom doesn’t like hearing the word no,” the silver-eyed man purred.
Austin’s face turned a dangerous shade of red, his fingers desperately tearing at the iron grip around his neck. His choking eyes locked onto Lucy’s. “Run…” he gasped out.
She hesitated, her feet glued to the floor in pure horror.
“Lucy! Run!”
She finally spun toward the open hallway, but the silver-eyed man’s booming voice froze her in her tracks. “Take one single step out that door, girl, and I snap his neck like a twig.”
Her breath came in shallow, panicked bursts. She looked back at Austin, who was losing consciousness. She was entirely trapped.
Then
A deafening, sickening c***k echoed through the small closet.
The silver-eyed man’s eyes rolled back, his body going completely rigid before his head jerked violently forward. He collapsed heavily to the floor, unconscious. A massive, blood-stained iron pipe clattered onto the concrete beside his limp body.
Standing directly behind him, framed perfectly in the shattered doorway, was a tall man with graying hair. His expensive, tailored tuxedo was streaked with white dust, and absolute fury blazed in his sharp eyes.
Lucy’s mouth fell open, her voice trembling in utter disbelief.
“…Dad?”
- Writer
