Chapter 7 - The Safe Room
Total darkness completely swallowed the massive kitchen of Windmir House.
Damon grabbed Ren's hand and pulled her fiercely toward the hidden servant corridors.
"We need to get to the subterranean safe room before his heavily armed mercenaries breach the perimeter," Damon ordered softly.
They navigated the pitch-black hallways from memory, avoiding the main staircases where flashlights were already sweeping.
The sound of shattering glass and heavy combat boots echoed violently from the grand foyer.
Damon led her into the dark wine cellar and pushed a hidden button behind a vintage rack of Bordeaux.
A heavy steel door slid open, revealing a highly fortified panic room stocked with emergency supplies.
They rushed inside, and Damon quickly locked the massive deadbolts, sealing them safely away from the chaos above.
He leaned heavily against the steel door, his breathing incredibly ragged and shallow.
Ren turned on the emergency lights and gasped in absolute horror.
A dark, spreading bloodstain completely covered the left side of Damon's crisp white shirt.
The assassin's bullet hadn't hit the glass cabinet; it had torn directly through Damon's side.
"You're shot!" Ren panicked, rushing to grab the advanced medical kit from the wall.
"It's just a graze," Damon lied, wincing in agony as he slid down the door to sit on the cold floor.
Ren ripped his ruined shirt open and began packing the bleeding wound with sterile gauze.
"I've wanted you for months, Ren," Damon whispered again, staring deeply into her terrified eyes.
"I brought you here to keep you safe, and I completely failed you."
"You saved my life tonight, Damon, just hold on and let me fix this," she pleaded, tears streaming down her face.
Suddenly, a loud, mechanical grinding noise echoed from the heavy steel door behind them.
The digital keypad on the inside of the safe room began flashing a bright, angry red.
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"That's impossible," Damon groaned, trying to push himself up from the floor.
"Someone with master administrative clearance is overriding the safe room lock from the outside."
