Chapter 12 - The Don's Retribution
Victor leaped forward, his blade flashing toward her throat.
*BANG.*
The gunshot echoed like a cannon inside the enclosed bunker. The high-caliber round struck Victor squarely in the right shoulder, spinning him around and knocking him to his knees.
He gasped in agony, clutching his shattered shoulder, staring at Evelyn in sheer disbelief. She stood with her arms locked, smoke curling from the barrel, her finger ready to squeeze again.
Before Victor could rise, the heavy blast doors of the bunker were blown off their hydraulic hinges with a violent, thunderous crash.
Dominic charged inside like an avenging demon from hell. His eyes were wide with a feral terror that transformed into absolute, murderous fury the moment he took in the scene. He saw Arthur slumped over, Victor bleeding on the floor, and Evelyn standing tall, holding the smoking gun, guarding the hallway leading to Lily’s room.
"Dominic!" Evelyn cried out, lowering the weapon slightly as relief crashed over her.
Dominic didn't say a word. He crossed the room in two blinding strides. He caught Victor by the throat with one hand, lifting the two-hundred-pound assassin off his feet and slamming him into the concrete wall with enough force to crack the masonry.
"You dared step into my home?" Dominic’s voice was a low, demonic snarl that made the air in the room vibrate. "You dared look at my family?"
"Dominic... wait..." Victor wheezed, his eyes bulging as Dominic’s fingers crushed his windpipe. "Vincent... Vincent planned it... from the start..."
"Tell him in hell," Dominic hissed.
With a brutal, decisive twist of his forearm, a sickening snap resonated through the room. Dominic released his grip, and Victor’s lifeless body crumpled to the floor like a sack of stones.
Dominic stood over the corpse for half a second, his chest heaving, his hands coated in grime and rain. Then he spun around, his ferocious gaze softening the instant it landed on Evelyn.
He walked toward her, his footsteps heavy. Evelyn stood trembling now as the adrenaline finally crashed out of her system. The gun slipped from her fingers, clattering against the tiles.
Dominic caught her as her knees buckled.
He pulled her flush against his chest, wrapping his powerful arms around her, burying his face in her hair. Evelyn buried her face into the crook of his neck, clutching his soaking-wet trench coat, letting out a ragged sob of pure release.
"I have you," Dominic whispered hoarsely, his hands running through her hair, holding her so tightly she could feel the violent pounding of his heart. "I have you, Evelyn. You're safe. You did it. You protected her."
"I was so scared, Dominic," she wept softly against his skin. "I thought he would get to Lily..."
"Never," Dominic vowed, pulling back just far enough to cup her face in his large, warm hands. He looked into her eyes with an intensity so fierce it took her breath away. "As long as I draw breath, no one will ever hurt you or your daughter again. You belong under the crest of Moretti now. You are mine to protect."
Evelyn leaned up, unable to stop herself, and pressed her lips to his.
The kiss was desperate, fierce, and charged with the fire of survival. Dominic groaned softly against her mouth, pulling her closer, his lips claiming hers with an intoxicating, possessive hunger that washed away every memory of cold, lonely nights. When they finally broke apart, both breathless, Dominic pressed his forehead against hers.
"Lily's awake," Marco’s quiet voice sounded from the doorway.
Dominic turned. Lily stood peeking around the corridor frame, holding her teddy bear and the white knight, looking at Dominic with wide, shining eyes.
Dominic smiled—a genuine, warm smile—and held out his hand. "Come here, little bird. The storm is over."
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Lily ran across the room, leaping into Dominic's arms. He caught her effortlessly, holding both Evelyn and Lily against him in a protective embrace that nothing on earth could break.
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