The maid’s hand was badly burned, yet she risked her job to stop the engagement cake from being cut—and what was hidden inside changed everything. / Chapter 14 / 49

Chapter 14 - Cold Steel and Warm Blood

The lights in the corridor suddenly died, plunging the basement into pitch-black darkness.

"Down!" Luca roared, his arm lashing out instantly, sweeping Lily behind the stainless steel island just as a deafening burst of automatic gunfire shredded the drywall of the kitchen.

Sparks showered through the dark as bullets ricocheted off copper pans and steel countertops. The sound was deafening, vibrating in Lily's skull. Beside her, Marco returned fire, the muzzle flash illuminating the doorway where three heavily armed men in dark tactical gear were advancing.

Lily pressed her back against the steel cabinet, her breath ragged, her fingers gripping the small pistol Luca had given her. The scar on her palm burned with phantom fire, the adrenaline spiking her senses to a razor’s edge.

"Marco, flank left!" Luca commanded through the gunfire, calmly drawing his own custom .45 from his holster. He peered around the metal counter, fired twice with pinpoint precision, and the silhouette of one assailant collapsed to the floor with a heavy thud.

"Luca, behind you!" Lily screamed.

A fourth gunman had breached the service door at the rear of the kitchen, his weapon aimed squarely at Luca’s back. Without thinking, without hesitation, Lily raised her hands. Her burned right hand held the grip, her left bracing her wrist, exactly as Luca had instructed her ten minutes prior.

She pulled the trigger.

The recoil kicked back against her palm, jarring the healing tissue, but the bullet flew true. It struck the gunman in the shoulder, throwing him off balance just as his weapon discharged wildly into the ceiling. Luca spun like a panther, his own shot catching the intruder in the chest, ending the threat instantly.

The gunfire ceased as quickly as it had begun. The only sounds left were the hiss of a punctured steam pipe, the acrid stench of cordite, and the heavy breathing of the survivors.

Luca lowered his weapon and turned to Lily. In the faint emergency lighting that flickered on, he saw her standing there, the smoking gun still steady in her hands, her blue gown dusted with plaster, her eyes wide but fiercely lucid.

He walked over to her, gently prying the weapon from her fingers, before pulling her against his chest in an iron embrace.

"Are you hurt?" he whispered harshly against her hair, his hand cradling the back of her head. "Lily, look at me. Are you hit?"

"I'm fine," she breathed, her voice trembling slightly as she leaned into the solid warmth of his body. "Just... my hand stings."

Luca looked down at her right hand, where the compression bandage was singed with gunpowder. A fierce, dark pride ignited in his gray eyes. "You saved my life again, Lily Carter."