Chapter 8 - The Aftermath
Gabriel slowly stood up, keeping Mia and the baby securely tucked behind him.
He walked cautiously over to the dead mercenaries lying on the ruined library carpet.
He pulled the tactical mask off the man Mia had struck with the paperweight.
The man was not a hired gun from Damian Sterling’s rival crew.
The dead man was clearly bearing the intricate wrist tattoo of the Romano family's own elite enforcer squad.
Gabriel stared at the tattoo in absolute, horrifying shock.
Vincent Russo had not just sold them out to Sterling; he had completely turned Gabriel’s own personal guard against him.
Marco stumbled into the library, clutching a bloody gunshot wound on his lower abdomen.
“They bypassed the outer security grid completely, boss,” Marco groaned, leaning heavily against the doorframe.
“They knew the exact access codes to the private elevator,” Gabriel replied coldly, pointing at the dead enforcer.
Marco looked down at the body, his face turning pale with absolute disbelief.
“We have a massive mole in the upper management, Gabriel.”
Gabriel helped Marco to a leather chair and applied pressure to the bleeding wound.
He then turned back to Mia, who was attempting to wrap her bleeding thigh with a torn piece of her ruined coat.
Gabriel gently pushed her hands away and carefully bandaged the painful graze with medical supplies from the vault.
“You fought them off,” Gabriel whispered, looking directly into her wide, terrified brown eyes.
“I just wanted to keep Leo completely safe,” she replied softly, her voice trembling.
Gabriel gently cupped her bruised face in his large, bloodstained hands.
The intense adrenaline of the violent gunfight slowly faded, replaced by an overwhelming, electric tension between them.
He leaned in slowly, giving her entirely enough time to pull away if she wanted to.
She did not move an inch.
Gabriel pressed his lips desperately against hers in a fierce, deeply emotional kiss that tasted of rain, smoke, and sheer survival.
Mia kissed him back with equal desperation, wrapping her arms tightly around his broad shoulders.
For a few fleeting seconds, the brutal violence and the terrifying betrayals completely disappeared.
Gabriel finally pulled back, resting his warm forehead gently against hers.
“I am going to end this completely tonight,” he promised her in a low, dangerous whisper.
“How?” she asked, searching his dark, intense eyes.
“I am going to use the encrypted ledgers as actual bait to draw Sterling out into the open,” Gabriel explained.
He stood up and checked his reloaded weapons, his demeanor shifting back entirely to the ruthless mafia boss.
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“I will leave my remaining loyal men here to heavily guard you, Leo, and Marco,” Gabriel stated.
Mia watched him walk toward the ruined doors, feeling a deep, terrifying sense of dread wash entirely over her.
