The Blood Crown

Blind Escape

"Down!"

Dante didn't wait for her to react. His massive arm wrapped around her waist with a brutal, unyielding strength, ripping her off her feet and slamming her body beneath the heavy mahogany desk. He covered her with his own frame, his large, solid chest pressing flush against her back, shielding her from the glass and plaster raining down around them.

The heat radiating off his body was immense, a stark contrast to the freezing terror of the room. Elena could feel the hard ridges of his abdominal muscles shifting against her spine with every heavy breath he took.

Pop. Pop. Pop. The sound of suppressed weapons tore through the adjacent hallway.

Dante reached inside his jacket, his large hand brushing against her thigh as he drew a matte-black tactical pistol. "Stay behind me. If I tell you to run, you run. Clear?"

"Clear," Elena whispered, her adrenaline screaming. Her hands instinctively gripped the lapels of his suit jacket, feeling the heavy thud of his heart beneath her palms. The sheer physical presence of him in the tight space was intoxicating, making her heart race for reasons that had nothing to do with the gunmen outside.

Dante didn't look back. He kicked the side panel of the desk out, creating a small clearing, and fired three precise shots into the dark hallway. Two groans echoed through the corridor, followed by the heavy thud of bodies hitting the floor.

"Move," Dante commanded, grabbing her wrist in a tight, scorching grip. He yanked her out from under the desk, pulling her through the smoke-filled study toward a hidden service door built into the mahogany bookshelves.

They tore down a narrow, unlit stairwell that led directly to the underground wine cellar. The air was damp and cold, but Elena could only feel the burning heat of Dante's hand wrapped around her wrist. He pushed open a heavy iron door that led to a secluded alleyway behind the estate, where a heavily armored, matte-black SUV sat idling in the shadows.

Dante shoved her into the passenger seat, slamming the door shut before sliding behind the wheel. He slammed the vehicle into drive, the tires screeching against the wet pavement as they tore out of the alley just as two more armed men broke through the back doors of the estate, firing wildly at the armored glass.

Elena looked over at Dante, her breath coming in ragged gasps. His face was a cold, expressionless mask of concentration as he navigated the dark, winding roads away from the city center. "Where are we going?" she demanded.

"A safehouse in the hills," Dante muttered, his jaw clenched tight. "Where the rest of the family can't find us. Because right now, Elena, we don't know who leaked your father's location. The traitor is inside the Moretti family."