Chapter 4 - Ambush at Riverdale"Get inside!" Dominic shoved me gently into the reinforced panic room behind the pantry wall.
"Dominic, no! Come with me!" I screamed, catching his hand before he could slide the heavy steel door shut.
"I have to clear the house, Evelyn," he said fiercely, his eyes blazing. "No one enters my home and threatens what is mine. Stay here. Do not open this door for anyone except me or Marcus."
Before I could protest, the door slammed shut with a heavy hydraulic hiss, sealing me in absolute darkness except for the dim green glow of emergency backup lights.
Inside the safe room, the sound of the gunfight was muffled, but the vibration of explosions and thundering gunfire rattled through the concrete walls. I pulled my knees to my chest, my heart hammering furiously against my ribs. I wasn't terrified for my own life—the safe room was bulletproof and bomb-resistant. I was terrified for him.
For forty-five agonizing minutes, I sat in the dark, counting every second.
Then, the shooting stopped.
A heavy, suffocating silence descended over the estate.
Minutes stretched into eternity. Nothing moved. No footsteps sounded outside. Was Dominic alive? Had Moretti’s men breached his defenses?
I couldn't take it anymore. Using the manual release lever Dominic had shown me earlier, I pushed the heavy steel door open.
The air outside smelled strongly of gunpowder, ozone, and copper. Smoke hung thick in the kitchen. Pots were scattered across the floor, and the beautiful sea bass I had been preparing lay ruined amidst shattered porcelain.
I grabbed a heavy iron skillet from the floor, holding it like a weapon, and crept out of the kitchen into the grand corridor.
The mansion was heavily damaged. Bullet holes peppered the expensive artwork, and shattered glass coated the marble floors.
"Dominic?" I whispered, my voice trembling.
I followed a trail of crimson drops leading down the hallway toward the private library. The doors were standing half-open.
I peeked inside.
Dominic was sitting on the leather couch, his jacket tossed aside, his white dress shirt soaked in blood around his left shoulder. Marcus was kneeling beside him, trying to apply pressure with a clean cloth while holding a pair of medical forceps.
"Hold still, boss," Marcus grunted, his own face covered in soot. "The bullet is lodged deep near the collarbone."
Dominic hissed through his teeth, his face deathly pale, sweat dripping down his jaw. "Just... get it out, Marcus."
"I can't," Marcus admitted, his hands shaking. "My fingers are too bloody. If I nick the artery, you'll bleed out before the private doctor arrives."
"Let me do it," I said, stepping into the room.
Both men looked up in shock.
"Evelyn," Dominic gasped, his voice weak. "I told you... to stay in the safe room..."
"I'm not good at taking orders from stubborn men," I said, dropping the iron skillet and rushing to his side. I knelt beside him, taking the forceps and clean gauze from Marcus’s hands. "Marcus, get me boiling water, clean towels, and the strongest alcohol in the bar."
Marcus blinked, then sprinted out of the room.
I looked into Dominic’s dark eyes. His breathing was shallow, his lips turning blue from blood loss.
"This is going to hurt," I whispered, tears blurring my vision.
"Do it," Dominic gritted out, reaching out with his good arm and tightly gripping my waist, pulling me close to him. "I trust you, Evelyn. I trust you with my life."
I took a deep breath, sanitized the forceps with high-proof bourbon Marcus brought back, and worked with steady, precise hands. Drawing on the composure I used during chaotic kitchen rushes, I located the lead slug lodged in his muscle and carefully extracted it.
Dominic groaned loudly, his grip tightening around my waist until it was almost painful, but he didn't pull away. I dropped the bloody bullet into a glass dish, immediately packed the wound with sterile gauze, and wrapped it tightly with bandages.
When it was over, Dominic leaned his head back against the leather sofa, panting heavily. The color slowly began to return to his cheeks.
He looked down at me as I knelt between his legs, my hands covered in his blood, tears streaming down my face.
"You really are full of surprises, Chef," he rasped, a weak, genuine smile touching his lips.
I wiped my face with the back of my arm, laughing through my tears. "You're an idiot, Dominic Romano. You could have been killed!"
Dominic reached up, his warm fingers cupping my chin, lifting my face toward his. "I couldn't let them reach you, Evelyn. I would burn this entire city to the ground before I let anyone touch a single hair on your head."
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Our eyes locked, the air between us suddenly electric with unspoken longing. Before I could process what was happening, Dominic pulled me gently upward, leaning in, and pressed his lips to mine.
The kiss was desperate, fierce, and filled with a raw, electric passion that shattered every boundary between us. I wrapped my arms around his neck, sinking into his warmth, kissing him back with everything I had.
