Chapter 6 - THE SNAKE IN THE HOUSE
"Don't touch her," I snarled, ripping my shoulder from Vincent's grip and snatching the drawing from Chloe's hand. I crumpled it into a ball and shoved it into my pocket.
Vincent’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. "Just admiring the artwork, Grace. You seem jumpy. The stress of the situation, I imagine."
"I need to find James," I said, my voice shaking despite my best efforts to sound brave. I grabbed Chloe’s hand and pulled her off the stool.
"Mr. Moretti is preparing for a sit-down," Vincent said, stepping smoothly into my path, blocking the exit to the kitchen. "He’s leaving for the harbor in ten minutes to meet the Romano bosses. He gave strict orders not to be disturbed."
"I don't care," I said, shoving past him. I felt the dangerous heat of his glare on my back, but I didn't stop walking until I reached the foyer.
James was standing by the front doors, shrugging into his heavy winter overcoat. Marcus was beside him, checking the magazine of his handgun.
"James," I called out, my voice echoing off the marble floors.
He turned, his expression guarded. "Grace. You shouldn't be out of your room."
"I need to talk to you. Alone."
James glanced at Marcus, who gave a subtle nod and stepped back. James walked over to me, his presence as commanding as ever. "Make it fast. I have to go stop a war."
I glanced over my shoulder. The hallway was empty, but I knew Vincent was listening somewhere. I couldn't say it out loud. If Vincent knew I was exposing him, he would kill us before James could even draw a weapon.
Instead, I acted entirely on instinct.
"Be careful," I said loudly, wrapping my arms around James in a sudden, desperate hug.
He stiffened instantly, completely caught off guard by the embrace. But in that split second, I reached into my pocket, pulled out the crumpled crayon drawing, and shoved it deep into the left pocket of his overcoat.
I pulled back, looking him dead in the eyes. I gave a microscopic nod toward his pocket.
James was a predator; he didn't miss a beat. His eyes flashed with sudden understanding, though his face remained utterly passive. "Lock the doors behind me," he ordered loudly.
He turned and walked out into the freezing courtyard, Marcus flanking him.
I watched through the glass sidelights of the front door as they approached the armored SUV. But just as James reached for the door handle, he paused. He reached into his pocket.
I held my breath.
James pulled out the crumpled ball of paper. He smoothed it out against the hood of the car. He stared at it for a long three seconds.
Then, everything happened at once.
James didn't get in the car. He spun around, drawing his weapon with terrifying speed, aiming directly at the front doors of his own home.
But a gunshot shattered the morning air.
It didn't come from James. It came from the driveway.
Marcus collapsed against the SUV, gripping his thigh as blood bloomed through his suit pants.
Vincent stepped out from behind a stone pillar near the gates, a smoking assault rifle in his hands. Three of the estate guards—men I thought were loyal to James—raised their weapons and aimed them directly at their boss.
"It's over, James!" Vincent shouted over the wind. "The Romanos promised me your territory if I handed over the woman and the kid! You're soft, old man!"
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Vincent raised a remote control and pressed a button. The heavy steel shutters of the mansion slammed down over the windows and doors, plunging the foyer where I stood into near darkness.
The security lockdown had been triggered. James was trapped outside with a traitor’s firing squad, and Chloe and I were locked inside a dark house with Vincent's remaining loyal men.
