Chapter 2 - The Escape from QueensThe thin wooden door of our apartment offered no real defense against the force outside.
"Katherine! Open the door!" a loud, authoritative voice barked from the hallway. It was Dominic, Marcus Vance’s chief enforcer. "We have orders from corporate security to escort you and Lily back to the tower for questioning!"
"Run to the fire escape, Lily!" I whispered frantically, pushing her toward the kitchen window.
"I'm not leaving without you, Mom!" she cried.
"I’m right behind you!" I swore, unfastening the window latch just as a heavy iron ram slammed into our front door.
BANG!
The lock shattered, splinters of wood spraying into the living room.
Dominic and two armed men wearing black tactical vests stepped through the doorway. Dominic’s eyes locked onto Lily just as she scrambled onto the iron metal grate of the fire escape outside in the blinding snow.
"Grab the girl!" Dominic roared, pulling a suppressed sidearm from his shoulder holster.
I didn't think. I didn't hesitate.
I swung the heavy cast-iron skillet with every ounce of motherly rage inside my body.
CLANG!
The metal hit the side of the first gunman’s tactical helmet with a bone-jarring impact, sending him staggering backward into Dominic.
Before Dominic could recover, I shoved the heavy kitchen table sideways, blocking the narrow hallway, and threw myself out the kitchen window onto the freezing iron platform of the fire escape, slamming the heavy glass sash down behind me.
"Go, Lily! Down!" I screamed over the howling wind.
We scrambled down the icy metal ladders of the five-story building, our shoes slipping on the wet rungs, snow blinding our vision. Above us, the window glass shattered as Dominic fired twice, bullets whizzing past our heads and ricocheting off the brickwork.
We reached the narrow, dark alleyway behind the building, our lungs burning with arctic air.
"This way!" I gasped, pulling Lily toward the main street.
As we burst out of the alley onto the snow-covered avenue, a massive black armored SUV screeched to a halt beside the curb, its tires spraying slush onto the sidewalk.
The rear door flew open.
Standing inside the vehicle, wearing a heavy dark overcoat, holding a silver-handled walking stick, his gray eyes burning with a terrifying, protective fury, was Maxwell Bennett.
"Get in!" Maxwell commanded, his deep baritone cutting through the storm.
I threw Lily into the plush leather interior of the armored vehicle and scrambled in behind her, slamming the heavy bulletproof door shut just as Dominic’s men ran out of the alleyway.
Maxwell didn't even look at the gunmen. He gestured flatly to his driver.
"Drive," Maxwell ordered coldly. "And notify Marcus that his evening schedule has just been canceled."
The heavy V8 engine roared to life, the armored SUV accelerating smoothly into the storm, leaving the gunmen behind in the swirling snow.
Lily collapsed against my side, shivering violently. Maxwell reached across the seat, pulling a thick cashmere blanket from a side compartment and gently draping it over my daughter’s shoulders.
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The most feared mafia boss in New York crouched down in front of my ten-year-old daughter, his harsh, severe face softening into an expression of profound, quiet reverence.
"You're safe now, little one," Maxwell spoke softly to Lily, his voice holding an unshakeable iron promise. "Tell me what you heard on my phone."
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