Chapter 5 - The Shootout and the Sacrifice
Automatic gunfire tore through the living room.
Lorenzo reacted instantly.
Years of violence took control before thought could.
He launched himself toward Vivian.
His body struck hers and drove her to the floor as bullets ripped through the wall where she had been standing.
Leonardo dove behind the heavy oak kitchen island.
“Moretti hitmen!”
Gunfire filled the room.
“They must have tracked your jet, Lorenzo!”
Lorenzo pulled a backup pistol from an ankle holster.
The darkness returned to his eyes.
But the rage was different now.
“Stay down.”
He pressed a desperate kiss against Vivian’s forehead.
“I won’t let them take you.”
His eyes held hers.
“Not ever again.”
Lorenzo rolled away from cover and fired through the shattered window.
2 men in dark tactical gear advanced across the porch.
Lorenzo’s first shot struck 1 of them in the throat.
The man fell.
The 2nd gunman raised an assault rifle.
Lorenzo saw the angle.
Vivian was behind him.
He did not dive for cover.
He stepped directly into the line of fire.
He placed his body between the weapon and his wife.
3 cracks filled the cottage.
Lorenzo’s body jerked.
2 bullets struck his chest.
The impacts threw him backward.
Leonardo rose from behind the island and fired.
His shot struck the remaining gunman between the eyes.
The sudden silence was almost as violent as the gunfire.
Wind howled outside.
Vivian screamed.
She crawled through shattered glass and splintered wood.
She pulled Lorenzo’s bleeding body into her lap.
“No. No, no.”
Her hands pressed desperately over the widening red stains on his shirt.
“Lorenzo, stay with me.”
She looked toward Leonardo.
“Leo, call an ambulance!”
Lorenzo coughed.
Blood appeared at his lips.
He looked up at Vivian.
A strange calm settled over his face.
His bloody hand trembled as he lifted it toward her cheek.
He wiped away 1 tear.
“I kept you safe.”
His breathing was shallow.
“I kept you safe.”
“You’re going to be okay.”
Vivian’s tears fell onto his face.
“We can fix it. Just hold on.”
“I meant what I said.”
Lorenzo’s eyes began losing focus.
“I always loved you, Vivian.”
May you like
He struggled to breathe.
“From the moment I saw you.”
