Chapter 4 - Surrounded
Emma scrambled across her living room floor, keeping low beneath the window line. Her breath came in short, jagged gasps.
She grabbed her cell phone from the coffee table, her thumb shaking violently as she dialed 911.
"911, what is your emergency?"
"My name is Emma Shaw," she whispered frantically, pressing herself against the base of her couch. "There are dozens of men surrounding my house on West Oak Street. They came in black cars. They're armed—"
The line went completely silent.
"Hello? Operator?"
A cold, calm male voice came through the speaker. It was not the operator.
"Disconnecting emergency services, Ms. Shaw. Please remain inside your residence."
Click.
The call ended.
Emma stared at her phone in absolute horror. They had intercepted her call. They controlled the local network.
Before she could process the terror, three heavy, deliberate knocks echoed through her front door.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
The sound rattled the glass panes of her entry door.
"Emma," a voice called from the porch. It was deep, calm, and utterly familiar. "Open the door."
It was Julian.
Emma backed away toward her kitchen, grabbing a long steel chef's knife from her wooden butcher block. Her hands were shaking so hard the steel clattered against the counter.
"Go away!" she screamed toward the door. "Leave me alone, or I swear to God I’ll—"
"You'll what, Emma? Use a kitchen knife against two hundred armed men?"
The door lock clicked. The brass knob turned smoothly.
The door swung open, revealing Julian standing on her porch. He was wearing a fresh charcoal suit coat draped loosely over his bandaged chest, a silver dragon ring glinting on his right pinky finger. Behind him, as far as the eye could see, dark men lined her street, standing in absolute, disciplined formation under the streetlights.
Julian stepped inside, closing the door behind him with a soft snap. Lev stood on the porch outside, guarding the doorway like a mountain of stone.
"What are you doing here?" Emma gasped, holding the knife out in front of her. "What is this?!"
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Julian didn't look at the knife. He looked at her eyes, his expression completely unfazed by her threat.
"I told you, Nurse Shaw," Julian said softly, taking a slow step into her living room. "Integrity is expensive. Last night, you saved my life. Which means, as of 2:13 a.m., your life belongs to the Castiglione family."
