Chapter 2 - THE VIPER IN THE ROOM
The silence in the crumbling apartment shattered the instant the truth clicked into place. Gabriel did not hesitate. The man who had ruled Chicago’s underworld for a decade didn't survive this long by second-guessing his instincts. Before Daniel could fully clear his weapon from beneath his charcoal coat, Gabriel lunged. He didn't dive for the gun on the floor; he tackled me backward, shielding my pregnant body with his own as a deafening gunshot ripped through the humid air. Plaster exploded from the wall right where my head had been a fraction of a second prior.
I hit the floor hard, but Gabriel’s arms absorbed the brunt of the impact. Above us, Daniel swore viciously, the polished facade of the loyal lieutenant melting into the desperate snarl of a cornered animal. Gabriel rolled off me, his hand snatching his dropped Sig Sauer from the floorboards in one fluid, lethal motion. He fired twice blind over the rusted radiator. A sharp cry of pain echoed in the narrow hallway, followed by the heavy, frantic thud of boots scrambling down the stairwell.
Gabriel sprang up to pursue, his eyes entirely black with a murderous rage I had never seen directed anywhere but outward. But as he reached the doorway, a sharp cramp seized my abdomen, and a gasp tore from my throat. Gabriel froze. The hunt evaporated from his posture. He turned, the gun lowering to his side, his chest heaving as he stared at me clutching the floorboards.
"Clara," he breathed, dropping to his knees beside me. His large, calloused hands—hands that had ordered the deaths of dozens—were trembling as they hovered over my stomach. "Did he hit you? Clara, look at me."
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"I'm fine," I gritted out, the shock wearing off to leave a cold, trembling adrenaline in its wake. "He missed. But Daniel... he's gone."
"Let him run," Gabriel said, his voice dropping to a gravelly, terrifying calm. "He won't get far. I own this city." He gently scooped me into his arms, rising effortlessly despite my weight. "I left you unguarded. I believed the lies. I swear to God, Clara, I will burn Chicago to the ash before I let another shadow touch you."
