Chapter 9 - The Devil's Wrath
The cathedral erupted into absolute chaos.
"Do not shoot the cops!" Gabriel roared from the shadows above.
He knew killing police officers would bring the full weight of the federal government down on his syndicate.
Gabriel fired a barrage of smoke grenades onto the cathedral floor.
Thick, blinding gray smoke instantly filled the nave.
Gabriel dropped down from the balcony like a shadow.
He grabbed Harper by the waist and sprinted toward the ancient catacombs beneath the altar.
The SWAT officers fired blindly into the smoke, their bullets shattering the stone pillars.
Gabriel kicked open a rusted iron grate and pushed Harper down into the dark tunnel.
He fired two warning shots into the ceiling to collapse a pile of rubble behind them.
The heavy rocks blocked the tunnel, cutting off the police pursuit.
They ran through the damp, pitch-black catacombs for ten agonizing minutes.
Harper could hear Gabriel's ragged breathing.
His wound had reopened, and he was losing blood quickly.
They finally emerged through a hidden grate in an old cemetery two miles away.
An unmarked black car was waiting for them under a dying streetlamp.
Elias threw open the back door, and they collapsed onto the leather seats.
"Get us back to the penthouse," Gabriel ordered, his voice tight with pain.
Harper pressed her hands against Gabriel's bleeding side, her tears mixing with the rain.
"He knew it was a trap," Harper cried.
"Derek is always one step ahead."
Suddenly, Harper's burner phone rang in her pocket.
She pulled it out and saw Derek's name flashing on the screen.
She answered it with a trembling hand and put it on speaker.
"You really thought you could outsmart me, you stupid bitch?" Derek laughed cruelly.
The sound of his voice made Harper physically sick.
"I am untouchable," Derek boasted over the line.
"I just used your mob boss boyfriend to wipe out the SWAT team investigating my corruption."
Gabriel grabbed the phone from Harper's hand.
"I am going to bury you alive, Lawson," Gabriel promised with lethal calmness.
Derek laughed even louder.
"You can't touch me, Ashford," Derek sneered.
"I am standing outside your secret penthouse right now with an emergency court order."
Harper's heart completely stopped beating.
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"The judge just granted me full legal custody of Noah," Derek declared triumphantly.
"If you don't hand the kid over in ten minutes, I am burning the building down with him inside."
