Chapter 7 - The Trial by Fire
The corridor erupted into a brutal, close-quarters firefight.
Dmitri opened fire, bullets tearing through the antique wallpaper and shattering plaster inches above Evelyn’s head. Evelyn dove behind a massive marble statue of Apollo, her heavy frame taking the impact of the stone floor smoothly as she rolled to cover.
She fired a return shot from her shotgun, pulverizing the doorway near Dmitri’s head, forcing him to duck back into the adjoining library.
"You can't hide behind that stone forever, nanny!" Dmitri shouted over the ringing in his ears. "I have twenty more men outside! This house is falling tonight!"
"You don't understand physics, Dmitri!" Evelyn shouted back, checking her ammo. One shell left in the tube. "A house doesn't fall because of the storm outside! It falls when the inside gives way! And I'm not giving up an inch!"
She dropped the empty shotgun, drawing her heavy SIG P322 pistol from her belt holster. She didn't wait for him to reload.
Evelyn rose from behind the statue, her heavy thighs driving her forward in a terrifying sprint.
Dmitri stepped out to fire, but Evelyn was already upon him. She didn't try to shoot him from a distance. She closed the space instantly, using her massive size to crush his momentum. She drove her heavy forearm straight across his throat, pinning him against the library doorframe.
Dmitri choked, his eyes bulging as her weight pressed down on his windpipe. He tried to raise his submachine gun, but Evelyn grabbed the barrel with her gloved hand, twisting it sideways with sheer leverage until the mechanism snapped out of his grip.
"You threatened my boys," Evelyn growled, her voice vibrating with a primal, motherly rage that terrified Dmitri to his core.
She drove a brutal knee straight into his midsection. Dmitri doubled over, gasping for air, and Evelyn grabbed him by the back of his collar, slamming him head-first into the heavy oak library table.
CRACK.
Dmitri fell to the floor, blood streaming from his nose, his weapon rolling away out of reach.
He looked up at her, groaning, his vision swimming as the size eighteen woman stood over him like an vengeful goddess, her gun pointed directly between his eyes.
"Wait... wait..." Dmitri choked out, raising a bloody hand. "I'll give you millions... double whatever Cavanaugh pays you..."
"I don't do this for the money, Dmitri," Evelyn said coldly, her finger tightening on the trigger. "I do it because I love this family."
"Evelyn! Don't!"
Damien’s voice cut through the smoke-filled hallway. He burst into the library, his suit torn, blood dripping from a cut on his forehead, but his eyes were fixed on her.
Evelyn kept her gun trained on Dmitri's forehead, her finger resting on the reset of the trigger. "He tried to breach the panic room, Damien."
Damien walked up behind her, placing his broad, warm hands gently on her shoulders. He pulled her gently back against his chest, his head coming down to rest near her ear.
"He's beaten, Evelyn," Damien whispered, his tone full of profound respect and affection. "We take him alive. We show the city that the Cavanaughs don't just kill their enemies—we break them, strip their assets, and lock them in a cage."
Evelyn took a deep, shaky breath, letting the adrenaline drain from her system. She slowly lowered the weapon, thumbing the safety back on.
"You heard the boss," Evelyn said down to the bleeding man on the floor. "Get up."
Viktor and three guards ran into the room, instantly placing Dmitri in heavy steel hand restraints and dragging him away.
The house fell silent once more.
Damien turned Evelyn around in his arms, looking at her face, checking every inch of her body for injuries. "Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine," she murmured, resting her forehead against his chest, letting out a breath she felt like she had been holding for days. "The boys..."
"They're safe," Damien said softly. "I checked the panic room monitor. They were watching you on the security feed the whole time."
Evelyn looked up, surprised. "They saw?"
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Damien smiled—a warm, beautiful smile that transformed his harsh features into something truly handsome. "Lucas told me that when he grows up, he wants to marry a woman who can throw a mob boss through a door."
Evelyn burst out laughing, a rich, genuine laugh that echoed through the ruined library, washing away the stench of blood and gunpowder.
