Chapter 5 - Blood on the Marble
Shards of glass rained down like deadly diamonds as a sniper bullet tore through the room.
Maeve screamed as she fell backward onto the rug.
Three men dressed in black tactical gear swung through the broken window on climbing ropes.
They raised automatic weapons, completely focused on the wheelchair in the center of the room.
Maeve did not think about her own safety.
She threw her body directly in front of the wheelchair to shield the man she thought was paralyzed.
"No!" Maeve screamed, covering her head with her arms.
The assassins hesitated for a fraction of a second, confused by the woman blocking their target.
That single second of hesitation cost them their lives.
Deafening gunshots erupted from the dark corner of the bedroom.
Gabriel Ferraro fired with lethal precision, dropping two of the attackers instantly.
The third attacker panicked and fired wildly into the room.
A bullet grazed Maeve's shoulder, tearing through the silk dress and burning her skin.
She cried out in pain and collapsed against the wheel of the chair.
The third assassin was tackled to the ground by Salvatore, who had rushed in from the hallway.
The room fell terrifyingly silent, except for the sound of Maeve's ragged breathing.
She clutched her bleeding shoulder, terrified to look at Elias.
She expected to see him slumped over in the wheelchair, dead.
Instead, a pair of strong, steady hands gently grabbed her by the shoulders.
Maeve looked up and gasped in absolute shock.
Elias Marchetti was not sitting in his wheelchair.
He was standing perfectly tall, completely uninjured, and furious.
The most feared boss in Chicago had completely faked his paralysis.
He easily lifted Maeve off the floor and cradled her against his broad chest.
Elias looked down at the surviving assassin, who was bleeding on the floor.
"Who sent you?" Elias roared with a voice that shook the walls.
May you like
The assassin smiled weakly and pointed a bloody finger directly at Maeve.
"She did," the dying man laughed.
