Chapter 2 - The Fire Escape
My apartment was completely destroyed.
The cheap furniture was slashed to ribbons and the walls were covered in deep gouges.
"Lily!" I screamed, dropping my purse.
My elderly babysitter, Mrs. Higgins, was lying unconscious on the kitchen floor.
But my five-year-old daughter was nowhere to be seen.
I ran toward the bedroom, my heart tearing itself in half.
The window leading to the rusty fire escape was wide open.
I leaned out into the freezing night air.
Two men in dark clothes were dragging a crying Lily down the iron stairs.
I did not think about the danger.
I climbed out the window and threw myself down the stairs.
I tackled the second man from behind, sending us both crashing onto the metal landing.
He cursed and backhanded me across the face.
Blood filled my mouth, but I bit down hard on his wrist.
The man holding Lily dropped her to pull a hunting knife from his belt.
"Just gut the mother and grab the kid," the man with the knife snarled.
I shoved Lily behind me, shielding her small body with my own.
I closed my eyes and prepared for the blade.
A deafening gunshot echoed through the alleyway.
The man with the knife dropped to the ground instantly.
The second man froze in pure terror.
Dominic Salvatore stepped out of the shadows at the bottom of the fire escape.
His expensive charcoal suit was perfectly pressed, but he was holding a smoking handgun.
"Touch her again and I will peel your skin off," Dominic promised softly.
The remaining attacker raised his hands in surrender.
Dominic's men swarmed the alley and dragged the attacker away.
Dominic holstered his weapon and walked slowly up the metal stairs.
He gently picked up a crying Lily and cradled her against his chest.
Then he looked down at me with cold, furious eyes.
"I told you they were coming, Emma."
"And now we know they are not working for a rival family."
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He kicked the dead attacker over with his expensive shoe.
Beneath the man's dark jacket was a silver police badge.
