Chapter 9 - The Blood Debt
Dante moved with terrifying speed and lethal accuracy.
He fired two shots, dropping both Russian guards before they could reload their rifles.
The basement fell silent for a fraction of a second, filled only with the smell of gunpowder.
Leo scrambled backward toward the heavy steel exit door, realizing he was outgunned.
I ran from behind the coffins and grabbed Mia, frantically cutting her zip ties with a broken piece of wood.
"We have to get out of here!" Mia cried, clinging to my jacket.
Vanessa was crawling on the floor, bleeding from a shattered shoulder where a stray bullet had caught her.
"Help me, Dante!" Vanessa begged, reaching a bloody hand toward her husband.
Dante looked down at the woman who had tried to murder him twice in one week.
His face was completely devoid of emotion as he stepped over her bleeding form.
"You made your bed, Vanessa," he said coldly.
Leo slammed the heavy steel door open and sprinted up the stairs toward the main chapel.
Dante reloaded his weapon and chased after him without hesitation.
I pushed Mia toward the side exit, desperate to get her to safety.
But as we reached the hallway, the building's fire alarms began to scream.
Leo had barricaded the front doors of the funeral home and ignited the chapel curtains.
Flames licked up the expensive wallpaper, filling the room with thick, black smoke.
Dante cornered Leo near the grand altar, their guns pointed directly at each other's chests.
"It's over, Leo, you have nowhere to run," Dante shouted over the roaring fire.
Leo smiled a bloody, desperate smile and pulled a small remote detonator from his pocket.
"I rigged the natural gas lines in the basement," Leo laughed hysterically.
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"If I die today, we all die together."
Leo pressed his thumb hard against the red trigger button.
