Chapter 8 - Breach at the Lake Forest Estate
While we dismantled the ambush downtown, a secondary nightmare was unfolding back in Lake Forest.
Luca’s secure satellite comms crackled to life inside my coat pocket as I stepped out of the Caruso Tower elevator.
"Boss!" Luca’s voice was frantic, drowned out by the sound of automatic gunfire in the background. "We've got a major problem! Salvatore had a secondary strike team! They bypassed the west perimeter sensors using dead drops! They're hitting the estate right now!"
My heart stopped beating for a full second.
"My daughters," I demanded, panic surging through my veins with the force of a tidal wave. "Elise!"
"They’re hoarded in the panic suite on the third floor," Luca reported rapidly. "My men are holding the ground floor, but the intruders are heavily armed with breaching charges. They're trying to blow the east wing stairwell!"
"Hold them off!" I roared into the radio, sprinting toward my waiting bulletproof Mercedes Maybach at the curb. "If anyone lays a finger on my family, I want every single one of those bastards dead before I get back!"
I slammed the accelerator, the V12 engine screaming as the car rocketed out of downtown Chicago toward the northern suburbs at 120 miles per hour, running red lights and dodging civilian traffic like a madman.
Back at the estate, the situation was terrifying.
Inside the nursery of the east wing, Elise Navarro stood locked behind the reinforced titanium panic door, holding Maisie in one arm and Rosie in the other.
The heavy oak door of the nursery had already been splintered by a tactical breaching charge planted by Salvatore’s mercenaries.
Smoke filled the hallway. Heavy combat boots echoed on the hardwood floors outside.
"Miss Navarro!" a harsh, gravelly voice shouted from the corridor. "Open the door! We know the kids are in there! Hand them over, and we make it quick!"
Elise’s hands shook uncontrollably, but her expression was fierce, hardened by an instinct she never knew she possessed. She had barricaded the heavy nursery door with a solid oak dresser, wedging it tight against the frame.
The doorknob rattled violently.
Then, a heavy explosive charge slapped against the exterior of the panic door.
Tick-tick-tick.
"Get down!" Elise screamed silently, throwing herself over the twin cribs, wrapping her own body around the babies to shield them from the impending blast.
BOOM.
The explosion blew the heavy wooden door completely off its hinges, sending splinters flying across the room like shrapnel. Smoke and dust billowed into the nursery, obscuring everything.
Through the haze, two armed mercenaries stepped over the wreckage, their assault rifles raised, scanning the room for targets.
"Clear!" one shouted, lowering his barrel toward the corner where Elise and the babies lay huddled.
Before the mercenary could squeeze the trigger, a dark shadow dropped silently from the shattered ceiling skylight directly behind him.
It was me.
Before the man could turn, I drove the butt of my Beretta down hard across the back of his helmet, sending him crashing face-first into the hardwood floor, unconscious.
The second mercenary spun around, bringing his rifle up—
Bang.
A single, clean shot through the shoulder dropped him instantly, his weapon clattering against the nursery rug.
Silence reclaimed the room, broken only by the heavy, ragged breathing of the ventilation system and the soft whimpers of the frightened babies.
I dropped the smoking gun to my side, letting the tension drain from my muscles as I rushed across the room.
"Elise!" I called out, dropping to my knees beside her.
Slowly, Elise uncurled her body, lifting her head through the settling dust. She had a small scratch on her cheek and soot smeared across her forehead, but her arms were locked tight around Maisie and Rosie, who were blinking in confusion at the smoke.
"Are... are they okay?" she whispered, her voice cracking with exhaustion and terror.
I gently reached out, taking the twins from her arms and pulling them securely against my chest, feeling the frantic beating of their little hearts.
May you like
"They're safe," I breathed, looking down at Elise with a wave of emotion so overwhelming it nearly brought me to my knees. "You saved them."
Elise let out a shaky, hysterical laugh, resting her forehead against the floorboards as the adrenaline finally wore off. "I told you... I’m good with kids."
