Chapter 14 - The Hidden Safehouse
We barely managed to seal the heavy steel doors of the bunker before a hail of bullets impacted the other side.
The thick metal held perfectly, completely locking the cartel assassins out.
I rushed immediately to the corner of the safe room where Leo was crying softly in his nanny's arms.
I pulled the little boy into my lap, rocking him gently and whispering that he was safe now.
My grandfather leaned heavily against the metal wall, coughing violently from the thick smoke.
"My men will hold them off until the federal authorities arrive," Ricardo stated grimly.
"The cartel will retreat before the police surround the estate."
Ricardo was absolutely right.
Within twenty minutes, the heavy gunfire above us ceased entirely, replaced by the wail of approaching sirens.
We had survived the initial, brutal assault, but the Moretti estate was completely compromised.
By dawn, we were quietly evacuated in heavily armored federal transport vehicles.
We did not go to a hospital or a police station.
Ricardo drove us directly to a highly classified, heavily fortified safehouse hidden deep in the Catskill Mountains.
The property was entirely off the grid, surrounded by dense forests and heavily armed guards.
I stood on the wooden deck of the cabin, staring out at the freezing, gray morning.
I felt an overwhelming, crushing sense of guilt weighing on my chest.
I had brought a global cartel war directly to the doorstep of the man I loved.
Ricardo walked out onto the deck and wrapped a warm blanket around my shivering shoulders.
"This is not your fault, Clara," he said softly, kissing the side of my head.
"I am a danger to you and Leo," I whispered, tears finally falling down my face.
"As long as I am here, Alejandro will never stop hunting us."
Ricardo turned me around, forcing me to look directly into his dark, unwavering eyes.
"You are my wife," he stated with absolute, fierce devotion.
"We do not run from our enemies, and we do not surrender our family."
I looked at his determined face and felt a sudden, powerful shift inside my own heart.
I was tired of being a victim.
I was tired of running from ghosts.
I walked back inside the cabin and found Dante cleaning his weapons on the kitchen table.
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"Teach me how to shoot," I demanded, my voice completely steady.
Dante looked up in surprise, but he slowly handed me an unloaded pistol.
