Chapter 3 - The Resurrection in the East WingDr. Vance let out a high-pitched, hysterical shriek of pure terror, dropping his syringe, turning on his heel, and sprinting out through the side service doors into the night.
Gabriel didn't look at the doctor. His storm-gray eyes remained fixed on Carmine Rossi, whose face was turning an ugly, mottled shade of purple as he choked for air under Gabriel’s iron grasp.
THWACK!
Gabriel slammed Carmine’s head hard against the steel edge of the table, knocking the underboss unconscious, leaving him slumped flat on the floorboards like a discarded rag.
Gabriel swayed heavily on the edge of the table, his body shivering from the lingering effects of the paralyzing toxin, his chest heaving as he tried to stand. His knees buckled under his broad six-foot-two frame.
Before he could hit the floor, I scrambled up from the linoleum, throwing my shoulders under his arm, catching his massive weight against my body.
"I've got you, Mr. Falcone," I gasped out, my arms wrapped securely around his waist, my small frame holding him upright. "I've got you."
Gabriel looked down at me.
His storm-gray eyes swept over my pale face, my split lip, and the tears cutting clean tracks through the dust on my cheeks. His broad, calloused hand came up slowly, his thumb gently, reverently wiping the blood from my lower lip.
"Matilda..." Gabriel whispered rasply, his deep voice thick with an overwhelming, raw emotion I had never heard in his baritone before. "You... you stayed on the table..."
"I promised I wouldn't let you be cold," I answered softly, a brave smile breaking through my tears.
A rare, breathtaking warmth lit up Gabriel’s severe features. He tightened his arm around my shoulders, drawing me close against his beating chest.
"The estate is surrounded by Carmine’s men, Matilda," Gabriel warned softly, his voice regaining its sharp, unyielding authority as his circulation fully restored. "By six A.M., he was planning to seize the primary vaults in the South Wing. We have three minutes before the morning security shift rotates."
"There's a secondary utility tunnel under the laundry room," I revealed quickly. "I clean the drainage access every Tuesday. It leads directly out to the old boathouse on the lake."
May you like
Gabriel offered a dark, razor-sharp smile—the look of a sovereign Don ready to reclaim his throne.
"Lead the way, my girl," Gabriel commanded flatly. "Tonight... we burn his empire down."
Related Stories
