Chapter 14 - The Subterranean Escape
"Get down!" I roared, tackling Sarah to the floor just as a barrage of silenced bullets tore through the kitchen cabinets above our heads.
The tear gas burned my eyes and throat with absolute agony, making it entirely impossible to breathe.
I pulled the compact pistol from my waistband and fired three blind shots toward the shattered patio door to keep the attackers at bay.
"Leo!" Sarah screamed, coughing violently as she tried to crawl toward the hallway leading to the nursery.
I grabbed her arm and pulled her behind the heavy kitchen island, shielding her pregnant body with my own.
"I will get him, go to the basement!" I ordered, my voice hoarse from the toxic smoke.
I low-crawled through the suffocating fog, keeping my head completely flat against the hardwood floor.
Heavy tactical boots crunched on the broken glass in the kitchen as two armed men stepped into our home.
I didn't hesitate. I rolled onto my back and fired twice, striking the lead gunman perfectly in the knee.
He collapsed with a muffled scream, giving me exactly enough time to sprint down the hallway to the nursery.
I kicked the door open and grabbed a terrified, crying Leo from his crib, wrapping him tightly in a thick blanket.
I ran toward the basement door, taking the wooden stairs two at a time just as another volley of bullets ripped through the drywall behind me.
Sarah was waiting in the dark basement, clutching a heavy metal flashlight with shaking hands.
"They are going to trap us down here," she panicked, taking Leo into her arms.
"No, they aren't," I grunted, rushing over to the massive industrial water heater in the corner of the room.
When we bought the house, my construction crew had spent two weeks remodeling the foundation.
I had secretly ordered them to reinforce an old prohibition-era coal chute that led directly to the city's storm drain system.
I grabbed a heavy crowbar and violently pried the false brick wall away from the foundation.
A dark, narrow concrete tunnel was exposed, smelling of damp earth and stagnant water.
"Get in, right now," I commanded, pushing Sarah and Leo gently into the dark chute.
I heard the basement door at the top of the stairs violently kick open.
I grabbed a spare propane tank from the corner, opened the valve completely, and tossed it toward the wooden staircase.
I crawled into the tunnel and pulled the heavy false brick wall shut just as the gunmen opened fire on the hissing tank.
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A massive, deafening explosion shook the entire foundation, collapsing the basement stairs and permanently sealing the cartel death squad under tons of burning rubble.
We were alive, but our beautiful home was entirely gone, and we were officially at war.
