Page 45 of Mafia Don's Secret Baby

Before we could take a breath, the ping of gunfire had both Lilianna and I ducking behind a large metal pipe. “How do they already have a sniper in position?” she asked, cursing under her breath.

“I can’t get any security cameras in the area. They’re all closed-circuit. No street cameras or government cameras either. It was why I couldn’t track the Petrovs,” Marcus fumed.

The door to the stairwell flung open a few yards in front of us, and I lifted my gun, firing into the head of the first man to come through it. Another came, and I fired again.

“We only have so much ammunition,” I growled as the sniper continued firing. “And I don’t know where this fucking sniper is. Backup is useless if we can’t move.”

We were stuck between a rock and a hard place.

The sniper would kill us if we gave him a shot. Judging by the trajectory of the bullets, the sniper stood somewhere behind us, but if we moved from our spot, he’d surely capture us in his sights.

We couldn’t hold up in the elevator after I’d disabled it. We couldn’t go down the stairwell when we had no idea how many men were waiting there.

When they exhausted our ammunition, we’d stand no chance.

“Where is the fucking backup!” I exploded, glancing at Lilianna’s fearful expression. She seemed to realize the same things I had considered already.

With a sniper in play, we couldn’t get help on this rooftop even if they arrived in time.

Fuck.

“Matteo,” she panted, firing once as someone else tried to come up the stairwell. Nobody else followed, as if they were trying to think about what to do next. “I don’t know what to do. I’ve never been in a situation like this.”

“We have to wait for backup.”

“Is there a way to fight?” she asked. “The sniper…”

“I don’t know where he is. If we move enough to enter his sights, he’ll kill us. We’re stuck here. We have enough ammunition for now. If backup shows up in time to clear the stairwell, we can wait it out.”

Anthony’s voice filled the silence between us. “We have fifteen men getting strapped up. They should be there in ten. Kirk is closer. He’s only four minutes out.”

“Kirk is our sniper,” I told Lilianna.

I kept my firearm aimed at the door, and a sliver of someone’s body peeked through. I pulled the trigger, and the man cursed explosively. We couldn’t keep this up. Not for long.

“Unless we figure out where their guy is, though…” Lilianna stopped, cutting herself off. Her eyes widened as she gave me a look that told me she had figured something out. She reached for my phone, prying it from my pocket and speaking quietly enough that the men in the stairwell wouldn’t hear. “Anthony, the top of the Trenton Event Center. The sniper is there.”

I considered her words as the stairwell grew too silent for comfort. I narrowed my eyes as I watched it, waiting for someone to come through.

“On it. I’ll send Kirk to a neighboring rooftop. Three minutes out.”

“I found one angle,” Marcus said uneasily. “It looks like a whole team of men are entering the building, Matteo. It looks like Vlad’s main tactical team. They look like a fucking SWAT team. Armed to the teeth. The only Hail Mary we have is that the actual specialist team hasn’t been called in yet, but I’m sure they’ve gotten plenty of calls.”

Sniper. Fully armed team. Fuck.

All the possibilities swirled through my mind. How could we avoid everyone? It wasn’t possible. Not with the sniper in play. But I wouldn’t let them get to Lilianna. Nothing was more important than keeping her safe. Not my life or the lives of my soldiers. Lilianna was mine, and I’d protect her.

“We’re in this together,” I swore, taking a deep breath.

“It’s an estimated three minutes until the adversaries reach you,” Marcus said.

That wasn’t enough time.

“Kirk found a high-rise closer to his location to set up. He’s going up now,” Anthony reported.

It would be close. So damn close.

A handful of men rushed through the stairwell door together. Five of them, all splitting in different directions the moment they left the doorway. They had used their energy running through the doorway, and by the time their weapons were lifted, Lilianna and I were already firing. Only one shot went off target, flying too far to the left before I shot three of them in the chest. Once they fell, I shot them between the eyes. Lilianna took out two of them with impressive aim.

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