Chapter 9 - What Walks Through Fire
BANG.
The sound of the gunshot was different from the rest. It was deeper, deafeningly loud, and originated from the threshold of the nursery.
The gunman’s head snapped back as a high-caliber bullet shattered his skull, dropping him instantly onto the Persian rug. Blood sprayed across the white baseboards.
Gabriel Kane stood in the doorway.
He was soaked in rain and blood—none of it his own. His hair was wild, his eyes glowing with an unholy, lethal rage that transcended human emotion. He didn't look like a man; he looked like an ancient, vengeful god who had descended into the underworld to claim what was his.
Behind him, two more of Moretti’s men lay dead in the hallway, cut down in a matter of seconds.
Gabriel dropped his empty magazine, slapped a new one into place with a cold, metallic click, and stepped into the room.
He didn't look at the dead man on the floor. His eyes swept the room until they landed on Maren, who was slumping against the wall, holding her bruised cheek, her face pale with shock.
"Maren," Gabriel breathed, his voice rough, raspy, and stripped of all its formal composure.
He dropped his gun onto the bed and fell to his knees beside her, his large hands framing her face with extraordinary gentleness. He scanned her face frantically, his thumbs tenderly wiping away the blood on her lip.
"Are you hurt? Did he touch you anywhere else?" Gabriel asked, his breath coming in ragged gasps. For the first time since she had known him, Gabriel Kane was shaking.
"I’m... I’m okay," Maren sobbed, reaching up to clutch his hands. "Nora... Nora's behind the wardrobe..."
Gabriel turned his head toward the wardrobe.
Slowly, a tiny yellow blanket moved. Nora peeked out from behind the wood, her big brown eyes wide with tears, her thumb pulled tight into her mouth. She saw Gabriel kneeling on the floor, covered in rain and dark stains, and she didn't see a monster. She saw her protector.
"Gabriel?" Nora whispered softly.
Gabriel closed his eyes for a second, a long, shuttering exhale escaping his lungs. The relief that washed over his face was so profound, so devastating, that it stripped away every remaining layer of his cold, iron persona.
He reached out an arm. "Come here, little one."
Nora scrambled out from her hiding spot, throwing her small arms around Gabriel’s neck. Gabriel pulled her tight against his chest, wrapping his heavy arms around both Nora and Maren, pulling them close until there was no space left between them.
Outside, the alarms continued to scream through the estate, red emergency lights pulsing against the dark glass of the windows.
Gabriel held the two of them in the center of the ruined room. He buried his face in Maren’s shoulder, smelling the scent of lavender and fear, feeling the rapid beat of her heart against his chest.
"They came for us," Maren whispered into his neck, her body shivering against his heavy frame.
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Gabriel pulled back slightly, looking into Maren’s tear-filled eyes, then down at Nora, who was resting her head on his tactical vest, entirely safe.
"It's over," Gabriel said, his voice dropping into a low, terrifying vow that shook the very foundations of the room. "Whatever is coming through that gate—whatever comes for this family—it will have to go through me first."
