Chapter 5 - Fire and SteelMy breath caught in my throat, but the download bar hit 100%. Transfer Complete.
"You're too late," I said, backing up against the server racks. "The federal task force already has everything. Vance, you're finished."
Vance’s face contorted with rage. "I might be finished, but I'll make sure Dante watches you die first." He raised the gun.
Before he could pull the trigger, the heavy steel reinforced door of the server room was kicked off its hinges with a deafening crash.
Dante stood in the doorway. He wasn't wearing a tuxedo jacket; his black shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing scarred, muscular forearms, and in each hand, he held a customized Sig Sauer pistol. Behind him, Marcus and a dozen elite guards secured the hallway.
The air in the room turned arctic cold.
"Drop the weapon, Victor," Dante’s voice was a low, lethal growl that carried the weight of an executioner.
Vance spun around, trying to pivot his gun toward Dante, but he was painfully slow. Two consecutive, muted thuds echoed through the small room. Vance dropped his pistol, clutched his shoulder and knee, and collapsed onto the tile floor with a scream of agony.
Dante didn't even blink. He crossed the room in three long strides, grabbing Vance by the collar of his expensive suit and hauling him to his feet.
"You touch what is mine," Dante whispered into Vance's ear, his voice trembling with controlled fury, "and you forfeit the right to breathe in my city."
Marcus and the guards hauled the groaning traitor away, leaving Dante and me alone amid the humming server racks.
Dante turned to me instantly, dropping his weapons to the floor. His eyes were wide, filled with a raw, unfiltered terror I had never seen on him before—not even when he was bleeding to death on his study floor. He grabbed my shoulders, pulling me against his chest so hard I could feel the rapid, violent thud of his heart.
"Are you hurt?" he demanded, his hands trembling as he checked my arms, my face, my hands. "Did he touch you?"
"I'm fine, Dante. I'm completely fine," I breathed, resting my hands against his chest, feeling the solid warmth of him beneath my palms. "The files are sent. Vance is done."
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He let out a ragged breath, burying his face in my hair. "When I saw him pointing a gun at you... I thought I lost you."
"You're not that easily rid of me," I whispered, smiling against his shoulder.
