90 "**“STOP WAVING YOUR HANDS! YOU'RE EMBARRASSING ME!”

Before Sterling could comprehend Luca’s words, a blinding white flash grenade rolled down the corridor from behind the mercenaries, detonating with an ear-splitting bang and an incandescent burst of magnesium light.

Luca’s loyal perimeter guards hadn't all fallen.

"Down!" Luca roared, tackling Marco to the floor as chaotic gunfire erupted in the narrow hallway.

"Claire, take Isabella to the panic room behind the dressing closet! Move!" Luca’s voice cut through the gunfire like a command from a deity.

I didn't hesitate. I yanked Isabella from beneath the desk, scooping her into my arms, and lunged toward the master suite’s walk-in closet.

Behind us, two mercenaries broke through the smoke, their assault rifles sweeping the room.

"Get the kid!" one of them barked in a thick European accent.

Isabella saw the red laser dot dance across my chest.

With instinct born of pure courage, she kicked violently against a tall floor lamp, sending the heavy wrought-iron stand crashing into the nearest gunman’s face. The man stumbled backward with a curse, his weapon discharging harmlessly into the ceiling plaster.

I raised the Glock Luca had given me.

My hands shook, but the image of Isabella being dragged away by monsters banished all fear. I aimed at the second gunman’s chest and pulled the trigger.

*BANG!*

The recoil kicked hard against my wrists, the deafening report ringing in my ears. The bullet struck the mercenary’s tactical vest, knocking him off his feet with a groan of pain.

I grabbed Isabella’s hand, shoved her into the hidden vault behind the mahogany paneling, and slammed the reinforced steel door shut, locking the digital deadbolts from the inside.

*Click-clack!* The heavy titanium bolts engaged.

Inside the panic room, the sound was instantly muffled to a low, distant hum. The room was equipped with independent emergency oxygen, medical supplies, and closed-circuit security monitors running on an isolated battery backup.

Isabella collapsed onto the floor, clutching my waist, sobbing silently. Her small body shook with violent tremors.

I sank down beside her, tossing the smoking gun aside, and pulled her tightly against my heart.

*We are safe, Peanut. We are safe in here,* I signed with shaking, sweat-slicked fingers. *The door is six inches of solid titanium. Nobody can get in.*

Isabella looked up at the security monitors on the wall.

The screens flickered to life.

My breath caught in my throat as I watched the live feeds of the hallway outside.

Luca was fighting like a wounded demon.

His jacket was torn, blood staining his white shirt across his shoulder, but his movements were unstoppable. He disarmed one mercenary with a brutal snap of the wrist, using the man’s body as a shield against incoming fire before driving him through a dry-wall partition.

Marco lay motionless on the floor down the hall.

Sterling was retreating toward the grand stairs, firing blindly over his shoulder as Luca stalked toward him with predatory intent.

On the screen, Luca caught up to Sterling at the top of the grand staircase.

Luca grabbed Sterling by the throat, lifting the older man completely off the floor with a single hand, pinning him against the balcony railing overlooking the three-story marble foyer below.

Even through the silent monitor, the raw, terrifying power of Luca Moretti was undeniable. Sterling was thrashing, clawing desperately at Luca’s iron grip, pleading for his life.

Isabella watched the monitor, her eyes wide. She recognized the darkness in her father’s face—the ancient, ruthless monster that lived beneath his skin.

She tapped the glass of the screen, then looked at me, her hands trembling as she signed:

*Papa is turning into a ghost. Claire... he is losing himself.*

I knew what she meant. If Luca murdered Sterling in cold blood like this, the darkness would swallow him whole. He would never be able to come back to the light we had built together.

I tapped the internal intercom button wired directly to the master suite’s ceiling speakers outside.