Page 64 of Finn

“Mr. Monaghan has been very generous,” Enzo replies.

“You’re just happy to not have to traipse all over with me when Finn’s around. Has it been nice having some time to yourself?”

“It’s always nice getting to spend more time with my sister and her kids. But I doubt I’ll see very much of them for the next little while.”

That’s true. With Finn most likely being gone more and the shit that’s about to hit the fan with not only the Cataldis but the Farinas as well, Enzo will be spending day and night at the house with me.

“Sorry about that. But you know it won’t be forever.” I shut off the light to the stairwell and close the door to the basement.

“My job is to make sure you’re safe. I’ve never minded, Alessia.”

They don’t make guards like Enzo anymore. He’s turned into more than an employee over the years. I consider him a trusted friend.

When we get to the kitchen, I’m making coffee for the both of us. It’s going to be a long night waiting up for Finn, and I know Enzo won’t rest until Finn is home, either.

“Here you go.” I’m handing him the cup when the house suddenly goes dark. “What the hell?”

“Let me call the guardhouse.” Enzo takes his phone from his pocket and the light illuminates his face, highlighting the furrow of his brow.

I watch him wait for one of the guards to answer. The longer he’s silent, the more nervous I get. There’s always someone in there. Why aren’t they answering?

“Let me try one of the other guards patrolling,” he says, dialing another number.

It’s not time to freak out yet. The guards at the gate are probably just trying to figure out what happened with the power.

Enzo disconnects the call when it goes to voice mail.

Our eyes meet, and his worried expression mirrors mine.

“Something’s not right,” I whisper just as we hear a loud crash from a window shattering boom throughout the silent house.

“Get back to the basement. Now!” Enzo commands and I take off out of the kitchen and into the hallway leading to the basement stairs with Enzo at my heels. Before I get to the door leading to the basement, heavy footfalls sound inside the house.

Wrenching the door open, I find the steps and begin my descent, careful not to miss one in the dark and take a tumble. We just need to make it back to the armory connected to the shooting range. Once inside, we can lock it and use the emergency phone to call Finn. Cell reception is shitty because of the steel-enforced walls. I’ve never been happier that Finn built a safe room down here as I am now. When he first showed me, I thought he was being overly cautious, though I should have known better. I was naive to think we wouldn’t be attacked at home, stupidly thinking no one would come in here and try to get through the already heavy safeguards Finn has in place. Just because something has never happened doesn’t mean it never will.

When I get to the bottom of the stairs, my shaking hands feel along the wall to find the steel door leading into the safety of the armory. The footfalls are directly over us, running toward the basement door then charging down the stairs. I find the handle of the heavy door and pull it open just as two shots ring out. My palm slams into the power switch next to the inside of the door, and I flip it on so the room is lit up with fluorescent lights running off a separate power grid. I turn, expecting to see Enzo right behind me, but instead, I’m faced with two men at the bottom of the stairs wearing night-vision goggles, pointing their weapons at me and my bodyguard lying on the floor. One lunges for me, jumping over Enzo’s prone body. Before he can reach me, I slam the door and hear a thunk on the other side as I’m sliding the locks in place. My head whips to the camera monitors set up in the room that activates when the interior lights are turned on. The camera right outside the safe room shows the two men standing in front of the door and Enzo bleeding on the floor, not moving at all.

“You let her get away,” one man shouts at the other.

“How the hell am I supposed to get through a steel fucking door, man?”

The men look around the dark basement, barely acknowledging the man they shot lying on the cold cement floor. My heart is in my throat, hoping against hope for Enzo to still be alive and praying they don’t decide to put a bullet in his head to make sure he’s dead.

“There’s a camera in the corner.” The man who lunged for me points up, and it eerily looks like he’s pointing directly at me through the screen as I watch his partner walk up and peer at the lens.

That’s right, assholes. Pay attention to the camera and not the bleeding man.

“I thought you made sure the power was cut.”

His voice sounds familiar, but it’s muffled through the mask he’s wearing over his face.

“There must be a separate power source for the room. I heard he likes his toys.”

Another man enters the basement behind them, but this one isn’t wearing a mask, only a pair of night-vision goggles.

“She locked herself in the room, boss. No way in through what I’m guessing is at least eight inches of solid steel. Monaghan has surely been notified by now.”

Adrenaline is coursing through my blood as my heart races while the men on the other side of the door speak to their boss, the one person in this world who can still evoke this type of fear from me. The one who has been the cause of so many nightmares in my life.

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