Chapter 7 - The Safe House
Blood immediately soaked through Gabriel's white dress shirt.
Harper grabbed his arm and pulled him behind the thick steel beam.
"Elias!" Gabriel roared into the darkness.
The heavy warehouse doors burst open.
Elias and a dozen of Gabriel's heavily armed enforcers flooded the building.
They laid down suppressing fire toward the sniper's nest across the street.
Elias grabbed Gabriel by his tactical vest and dragged him toward the armored SUV.
Harper picked up Noah and ran right behind them, dodging the flying concrete dust.
They piled into the vehicle as it aggressively sped away from the docks.
Gabriel was breathing heavily, his hand pressed hard against his bleeding side.
"Take us to the Astor penthouse," Gabriel ordered Elias through gritted teeth.
"It is completely off the grid."
Harper ripped open the emergency medical kit under her seat.
"Let me see it," she demanded, pulling Gabriel's bloody shirt open.
Gabriel watched her intently as she worked.
Her hands were no longer shaking.
The timid, terrified maid was entirely gone.
She cleaned the wound and began stitching the torn flesh with practiced efficiency.
"Where did you learn to do this?" Gabriel asked, wincing slightly.
"I spent three years fixing my own wounds so I wouldn't have to go to the hospital," Harper replied quietly.
Gabriel felt a heavy, dark guilt settle over his heart.
He reached out and gently traced the line of her jaw with his thumb.
The tension in the armored car shifted from pure adrenaline to a heavy, undeniable heat.
They reached the underground garage of a luxury high-rise.
The penthouse was a fortress of bulletproof glass and steel doors.
Harper carried an exhausted Noah into a guest bedroom and tucked him in.
When she walked back into the living room, Gabriel was pouring a drink.
He looked paler, but his eyes were burning with vengeance.
"I am going to completely dismantle Derek Lawson piece by piece," Gabriel swore.
Harper walked over and stood incredibly close to him.
"He took your money, Gabriel," she whispered.
"I do not care about the money," Gabriel replied softly, looking down at her lips.
"He tried to take you."
Before he could lean in, the heavy steel door of the penthouse buzzed.
Elias walked into the room holding a blood-stained folder.
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"Boss, we have a massive problem," Elias announced grimly.
"The O'Connors just placed a five-million-dollar bounty on Harper's head, and every hitman in Boston received the text."
