Chapter 6 - Night of the Wolves
Rico snapped back into tactical precision in a microsecond. He pulled a concealed nine-millimeter pistol from a holster concealed behind his back, racking the slide with a sharp, lethal metallic click.
"Lock the adjoining door and stay under the bed with Leo," Rico ordered, his voice echoing with absolute command. "Do not open it for anyone except me or Dante. If anyone else comes through that door, kill them."
He jammed a small, sleek silver handgun into Clara’s hands.
Clara stared at the cold metal weapon, her hands shaking violently. "Rico, no—"
"You said you want to protect my son!" Rico growled, grabbing her by the back of her neck, pulling her forehead against his, mirroring what Leo had done at the restaurant. "Protect him, Clara! Trust me to end this!"
He released her, turned on his heel, and sprinted out into the hallway, slamming her bedroom door behind him. The sounds of heavy automatic gunfire and shouting immediately filled the lower levels of the mansion.
Clara didn't freeze. Instinct took over. She ran into the adjoining nursery.
Leo was sitting up in bed, crying hysterically, clutching his ears as the gunfire echoed through the structure.
"Clara! Clara!" he screamed.
"I'm here baby, I'm here!" Clara rushed over, scooping the terrified toddler into her arms. She ran back into her guest bedroom, locked the thick mahogany adjoining door, and slid the heavy brass bolt into place.
She pulled Leo into the spacious walk-in closet, hiding beneath a rack of heavy winter coats. She wrapped her body entirely around him, pressing his head into her chest, singing the quiet, sweet lullaby her mother used to sing to her.
"Shh... hush little baby, don't say a word... mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird..."
Outside the closet, the sound of boots marching down the hallway grew louder. Gunfire shredded through the plaster walls of the bedroom. glass shattered.
"Search every room!" a raspy, foreign voice shouted in the main bedroom. "Valenti wants the boy! Kill the girl and bring the kid!"
Clara’s heart stopped. They weren't just here to attack Rico. They were here for Leo.
She looked down at the gun in her hand. Her hands stopped shaking. A fierce, primal protective maternal rage ignited inside her chest. She gripped the weapon with both hands, thumbing off the safety catch just as her father had taught her years ago.
The closet door was yanked open.
A heavy-set hitman wearing a black tactical mask stood framed in the light, holding an assault rifle. His eyes widened as he spotted Clara and the boy nestled in the corner.
"Found them—" the man began to yell.
BANG! BANG!
Clara pulled the trigger twice without hesitation. The heavy bullets struck the man square in the center chest vest. The kinetic force threw him backward out of the closet. Before he could recover, a dark shadow materialized behind him.
Rico appeared like a phantom. He grabbed the hitman by his tactical vest, drove his head into the doorframe, and fired a single shot, neutralizing the threat instantly.
Rico turned into the closet, covered in drywall dust and blood—none of it his own. His eyes were wild, searching frantically until they landed on Clara and Leo.
"Clara!" Rico dropped to his knees, pulling both of them into his massive arms, wrapping them in a suffocating, protective embrace.
Leo didn't scream. He buried his face in his father's blood-stained shirt, clutching Rico’s vest.
Rico pressed his face into Clara’s hair, his breath ragged, his body trembling with adrenaline. "You shot him," Rico breathed in shock. "You protected my son."
"I told you," Clara whispered, tears finally slipping down her pale cheeks as she rested her head against Rico’s solid chest. "I protect what’s mine."
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Rico pulled back, looking at her with an intensity that transcended words. In the middle of the smoke, blood, and chaos, something shifted permanently between them. The cold wall Rico had built around his heart didn't just crack—it shattered completely.
"Dante!" Rico roared over his shoulder, standing up and sweeping Leo into his left arm while holding Clara’s hand tightly in his right. "Secure the perimeter! The Valenti family just signed their death warrant!"
