CHAPTER 6 – THE WOMAN THEY COULDN'T TAKE
CHAPTER 6 – THE WOMAN THEY COULDN'T TAKE
The next morning, Emma insisted on visiting her mother.
"I won't hide forever."
Luca objected immediately.
"It's too dangerous."
"My mother thinks I've disappeared."
Dante stood silently beside the window.
After several moments, he nodded.
"Prepare the convoy."
Emma sighed.
"I don't need ten armored SUVs."
"You'll have twelve."
The convoy crossed Manhattan under heavy escort.
Unmarked security vehicles surrounded Emma's car from every direction.
Traffic seemed normal.
Until the bridge.
A sanitation truck suddenly jackknifed across three lanes.
Everything stopped.
Luca shouted into the radio.
"Ambush!"
Explosions rocked the front escort vehicle.
Masked gunmen emerged from construction barriers.
Automatic gunfire erupted.
The bridge became a battlefield.
Emma ducked as bullets shattered the windows.
Her driver collapsed over the steering wheel.
"Dante!"
He kicked open the car door.
"Stay behind me!"
She obeyed.
For exactly three seconds.
A terrified little boy cried from a nearby minivan trapped between burning vehicles.
His mother was unconscious.
Without thinking...
Emma ran.
"Emma!"
Dante's voice thundered behind her.
She ignored it.
Gunfire ripped through the air as she reached the child.
"It's okay."
She pulled him free just as another explosion overturned the van.
Dante arrived a heartbeat later, shielding both of them with his own body.
A bullet slammed into his back armor.
Another struck his arm.
Still he refused to move.
Luca's team finally overwhelmed the attackers.
The survivors fled.
Silence slowly returned.
The little boy wrapped his arms around Emma.
"You saved me."
Emma smiled through tears.
"No."
She looked at Dante.
"He did."
That night...
News stations across New York showed dramatic footage from the bridge.
The mysterious billionaire who had rescued civilians.
The brave young woman carrying a frightened child.
Neither reporter knew the truth.
Inside the penthouse, Emma stood on the balcony.
"You were shot because of me."
Dante walked beside her.
"I've been shot before."
"You could've died."
He looked out over the city lights.
"So could you."
Emma turned toward him.
"Why?"
He finally met her eyes.
"Because somewhere along the way..."
He hesitated.
"...you stopped being someone I was protecting."
Emma's heart pounded.
"What am I now?"
Dante stepped closer.
"So far..."
their faces were only inches apart.
"...the only person who still reminds me I'm human."
Before either of them could say another word...
Luca burst onto the balcony.
His face had gone completely pale.
"Boss."
Dante immediately stepped back.
"What happened?"
Luca held out a tablet.
A new video had just arrived.
It showed Emma's mother...
walking out of Mount Sinai Hospital.
Alive.
Safe.
Then the camera zoomed out.
Across the street stood Sergei Volkov himself.
He looked directly into the camera.
Smiled.
And slowly raised one finger.
Not at Emma.
At Dante.
May you like
A silent promise.
You're next.
