Chapter 5 - The War Room
The penthouse transformed into an armed fortress within the hour.
Heavy steel shutters dropped automatically over the floor-to-ceiling windows, plunging the sprawling living rooms into the harsh glow of tactical monitors and emergency lights. Men in black tactical gear moved silently through the hallways, checking submachine guns, fastening ceramic body armor, and reviewing digital blueprints of the Rossi family’s primary warehouse district in Queens.
I refused to stay in the bedroom. I sat at the end of the long walnut conference table in the study, my laptop open, cross-referencing shell companies linked to Victor Rossi while Niko stood over my shoulder, pointing out armed checkpoints on the satellite feed.
“You should be in the safe room, Elena,” Niko said for the third time in ten minutes, his hand resting briefly on the back of my chair as he leaned in to inspect a financial routing code.
“And miss the destruction of the syndicate holding my father hostage?” I snapped back, not looking up from my screen. “Not a chance, Niko. I’m the one who traced their hidden offshore accounts through the municipal zoning loopholes. You need me here.”
Niko stared down at me for a long moment, a mixture of exasperation and intense, burning respect flashing in his grey eyes.
“You are the most infuriating, stubborn woman I have ever met in my life,” he muttered, though there was no heat in his voice.
“You married me for my father’s leverage,” I reminded him, flashing a cold, defiant smile. “You didn't ask for a shrinking violet.”
Before Niko could reply, the heavy study door swung open, and Luca stepped inside, holding a secure encrypted phone.
“Boss, the vanguard unit is in position outside the Queens warehouse,” Luca reported sharply. “Victor Rossi is inside the main office building with less than a dozen guards. They’re burning documents as we speak.”
Niko straightened up immediately, his coat settling smoothly over his broad shoulders as he strapped a heavy leather holster containing a custom Beretta pistol across his chest. He picked up his jacket, sliding his arms into the sleeves with calculated grace.
He walked around the desk, stopping right in front of me.
“Stay inside the penthouse,” Niko ordered, his voice brooking no argument. “Luca will leave six men outside these doors. When I come back, this war will be over.”
He turned toward the door.
Without thinking, I stood up from my chair and grabbed his wrist.
Niko stopped, turning back slowly.
“Don't die, Niko Santoro,” I whispered, my voice suddenly failing me as I looked into his dark eyes. “I just got married. It would be terribly inconvenient to become a widow so soon.”
Niko stared at me, his expression softening into something devastatingly tender. He reached up, his warm hand cupping the back of my neck, pulling me forward until his forehead rested gently against mine.
May you like
“I’m too stubborn to die, Elena,” he murmured against my hair. “Wait for me.”
Then he turned and walked out into the night, leading an army of ghosts into the war zone.
