Chapter 7 - The Final Confrontation
Down in the grand ballroom, the party was reaching its peak, oblivious to the drama unfolding seven floors above.
Nell stood near the balcony doors, watching the snow begin to fall over the dark Boston skyline.
A heavy hand suddenly clutched her arm—not with the sloppy aggression of Teddy Vain, but with the ruthless, practiced grip of an old mafia boss.
Bruno Santoro pulled Nell out onto the dark, icy terrace, slamming the glass door shut behind them.
“Where is he?” Bruno growled, pulling a heavy snub-nosed revolver from his coat and pressing it into Nell’s side. “Where’s Teddy?”
Nell remained standing straight, the cold night wind whipping her dark hair around her face. “He’s upstairs with the FBI, Bruno. It’s over.”
Bruno’s eyes turned wild with fury. “You little bitch! You and your bastard father set us up!”
“My father spent three months in hiding because of you!” Nell shouted back, her voice echoing over the roaring wind. “You stole millions from your own family, framed an innocent man, and tried to destroy everyone who stayed loyal to Rafe!”
Bruno raised the revolver, pointing it directly between her eyes. “Then I’ll start by taking Arthur’s daughter!”
“Put the gun down, Uncle.”
Rafe stepped out onto the balcony, his hands held low at his sides, completely unfazed by the weapon trained on Nell.
Bruno turned his head slightly, keeping the gun locked on Nell. “Stay back, Rafe! I built this empire with your father! I’m not letting a twenty-four-year-old boy and a maid hand my life over to the feds!”
“You didn't build anything, Bruno,” Rafe said calmly, taking a slow, calculated step forward onto the snow-covered terrace. “You bled my father’s business dry. You leaked information to rival families. You were the one who betrayed my father twelve years ago.”
Bruno’s hand trembled on the grip. “He was soft! Just like you!”
“I’m not soft, Bruno,” Rafe said softly. “I just play by the rules of the house.”
In a flash of lightning-fast movement, Rafe stepped inside Bruno’s guard, grabbing his uncle’s wrist and twisting it violently upward. A loud crack echoed across the terrace as Bruno cried out in agony, dropping the revolver onto the snow.
Rafe kicked the weapon over the balcony edge, dropping his uncle to his knees with a brutal blow to the chest.
Federal agents burst onto the terrace moments later, pinning the groaning older man to the icy floorboards.
Rafe didn't look at his uncle again. He turned immediately to Nell, taking her trembling face in his warm hands, searching her eyes for any sign of injury.
“Are you hurt?” he asked, his voice raw with emotion.
May you like
Nell shook her head, tears of relief spilling down her cheeks as she threw her arms around his neck. “I’m okay, Rafe. I’m okay.”
Rafe pulled her tightly against his chest, shielding her from the freezing rain as the blue lights of police cruisers flooded the street ten stories below.
