Chapter 7 - The Poison in the Wine Cellar
“Ambush!” Marco shouted through the radio.
Gunfire ripped through the warehouse windows, showering us in glass shards.
Matteo grabbed my waist and pulled me behind a thick steel pillar just as a spray of bullets gouged the concrete wall where I had been standing.
“Stay down!” he commanded.
He pulled his gun and fired three rapid shots through the shattered doorway, dropping an advancing attacker in black tactical gear.
“Salieri’s hit squad!” Marco yelled over the deafening noise. “They tracked Vance here!”
“Fallback to the rear exit!” Matteo commanded, keeping his body positioned between me and the incoming fire.
He held my hand tightly, his grip unyielding and reassuring, guiding me through the maze of metal crates while his men laid down suppressing fire.
We burst through the rear exit into the pouring rain.
Matteo’s armored SUV was idling near the alley.
Marco shoved us into the back seat and slammed the door just as bullets pinged harmlessly off the reinforced ballistic glass.
The driver slammed on the gas, tires screeching as we tore into the stormy Chicago streets.
Inside the SUV, I was breathing heavily, my heart hammering against my ribs.
Matteo turned to me, his hands running over my shoulders and arms, checking for injuries.
“Are you hurt? Claire, look at me. Are you hit?”
“I’m okay,” I gasped, clutching his forearm. “I’m okay. What about your mother? If Salieri sent men after Vance, what about the mansion?”
Matteo’s phone rang instantly.
He answered it on speaker.
It was the captain of the estate guard.
“Boss! We have a breach at the west gate! Six armed men entered the grounds! They’re attempting to reach the cellar!”
Matteo’s voice turned deadly.
“Is my mother secure?”
“Yes, sir! She is inside the panic bunker. But they brought incendiary devices! They’re trying to burn the mansion from the inside!”
“Hold them off at all costs! We are five minutes away!” Matteo roared.
He hung up and slammed his fist against the leather seat.
“Drive faster!” he barked at the chauffeur.
I leaned forward, my mind racing.
“Matteo, the wine cellar connects to the old carriage tunnels underneath the east lawn. There’s an emergency ventilation intake behind the rose garden. If they drop firebombs near the cellar, the smoke will be pulled directly into the panic room's air filtration system!”
Matteo looked at me with sharp realization.
“The air scrubber has a manual shutoff valve outside.”
“If we don’t shut that valve before the smoke enters, Mrs. Romano will suffocate inside the bunker!” I said.
Matteo grabbed an extra rifle from under the seat and handed a sidearm to Marco.
“Claire, you stay in the car when we arrive.”
“No,” I replied fiercely. “I know where the rose garden shutoff valve is. I helped the maintenance crew service it last spring. You focus on clearing the attackers—I’ll shut the valve and save your mother.”
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Matteo looked into my eyes, seeing the unshakeable determination in them.
“God help anyone who gets between you and my family,” he murmured.
