Chapter 6 - Blood in the Rain
The heavy rain hammered against the steel chassis of the armored Suburban as Sal slammed the rear door shut. The deadbolt engaged with a heavy, hydraulic thud, sealing the three of us inside a mobile bunker.
Outside, the Chicago streets were a blur of neon reflections and slashing water. Inside, the only light came from the dim amber glow of the dashboard and the rhythmic, terrifyingly shallow rise and fall of Lily’s chest.
Vincent sat across from me on the reinforced bench, still holding our daughter. His custom charcoal coat was soaked through, dark with rain and Tarasov blood, but his posture was rigid as iron. He had wrapped Lily in a wool blanket from the vehicle’s medical kit, cradling her tiny head in a hand that could crush a man’s larynx without hesitation.
“Her temperature is climbing,” I said, my voice shaking as I reached out to touch Lily’s forehead. Her skin was burning, dry and paper-thin. “Vincent, she doesn’t have days. She barely has hours. If her white blood cell count crashes while she’s fighting an infection, she’ll go into septic shock.”
Vincent didn’t look away from her face. His thumb stroked the curve of Lily’s cheek with a gentleness that seemed impossible for a monster.
“Dr. Evans is already at the Lake Forest estate,” Vincent said, his voice a low, gravelly hum designed to mask the fury vibrating through his ribs. “He has a surgical suite and three pediatric oncologists on site. The equipment arrived from Northwestern two hours ago.”
“And what about the leak?” I countered, leaning forward, my fists clenched on my knees. “You heard Sal. Someone inside your house called Nikolai Tarasov. Someone told him where we’d be. You’re taking us straight into the viper’s nest that just tried to put a bullet through her heart.”
Vincent’s gaze finally cut up to mine. In the amber dark, his hazel eyes were pitch-black, stripped of humanity.
“Nobody enters the estate without my personal biometric clearance,” he said. “The inner circle—Marco, Frank, and Julian—are already being rounded up by my enforcers. They think they’re being called to an emergency war council. By midnight, whoever sold my daughter’s blood to the Russians will be buried under six feet of wet concrete.”
“I don’t care about your vengeance, Vincent!” I cried out, struggling to keep my voice down so I wouldn’t wake Lily. “I care about her life! You promised me marrow. You promised me you would save her.”
“And I will,” he said fiercely, his hand shooting out to grip my wrist. His grip was tight, desperate, scorching hot against my cold skin. “Listen to me, Claire. Five years ago, you vanished into thin air. You stole my heart and my blood, and you made me believe you left because you hated what I was. But you kept her alive. You brought her back to me.”
He pulled me slightly closer, refusing to let go, his eyes boring into my soul.
“I will tear this city apart brick by brick before I let anyone take her from us. Do you understand me? You are in my world now. And in my world, nobody touches what belongs to Vincent Moretti.”
Before I could pull away, Lily stirred in his lap, letting out a weak, raspy whimper.
“Mama…” she whispered, her tiny eyelashes fluttering open. Her pupils were dilated, glassy with fever. “My legs hurt…”
Vincent froze. The murderous warlord who had just wiped out a hit squad in a downtown alley looked utterly helpless. He loosened his grip on my wrist, his broad shoulders curling protectively around her.
“I’m right here, baby,” I whispered, leaning over to brush the damp curls from her forehead. “Daddy’s here too. We’re going somewhere safe.”
Lily turned her hazy brown eyes toward Vincent. She stared at the harsh angles of his face, the dark stubble on his jaw, and the scar cutting through his left eyebrow. Slowly, her small, trembling fingers reached up and touched the lapel of his wet coat.
“Are you the giant?” she murmured in her fragile, childish cadence. “Mama said… my daddy was a giant who lives in a castle.”
A sharp, audible intake of air hitched in Vincent’s throat. His jaw tightened so hard I could hear his teeth grind.
“Yeah, sweetheart,” Vincent whispered, his voice cracking at the edges. “I’m the giant. And nobody is ever going to hurt you again.”
May you like
Up front, Sal cleared his throat, his eyes flicking to the rearview mirror.
“Boss,” Sal said tensely. “We’ve crossed into Lake Forest. But there’s a problem at the main gate. Frank Bellini just pulled up with two unauthorized security sedans.”
