Page 67 of Forbidden Vengeance

The windows explode inward as rappelling ropes appear. Mario moves with inhuman speed, tackling me behind my heavy desk as gunfire erupts. Through the chaos, I hear familiar voices—Marco’s team, perfectly timed.

The world dissolves into violence and breaking glass.

“You okay?” Mario’s body shields me completely, one hand protective over my stomach while the other aims his gun around the desk’s edge. His breath is warm against my neck, his heartbeat steady despite the chaos.

“Other than dying to throw up? Perfect.” I try to peer around him, but he presses me more firmly down, his body a wall between me and danger.

“Stay down,” he growls. “Marco’s team has the office covered but the hallway?—”

A fresh explosion rocks the building. Sofia’s delighted laugh carries over the gunfire: “Hallway’s clear, boys! Anthony’s running!”

“What thefuckis she doing here?” Mario snarls, his body tensing with fresh rage. “I’m going to kill her. Then I’m going to kill Marco for letting her anywhere near this.”

But I have more pressing matters to address rather than worry about a nineteen-year-old having the time of her life. “Shouldn’t we go after him? He’s getting away.”

“Let him,” Mario says grimly as the gunfire dies down. He helps me up, hands checking me for injuries with practiced efficiency. “We’ve got what we need.”

Sean Murphy holds up the drive, his gear splattered with evidence of the fight. “This what you wanted them to see, then?”

“That depends,” I say carefully, watching his face. “On whether you’re really here under Seamus’s orders, or if someone else sent you.”

His smile is sharp as a blade. “Smart lass. The lady O’Connor sends her regards.” He tucks the drive into his vest. “Said you might need some backup today.”

“So Siobhan’s finally making her move,” Mario says beside me, his arm still protective around my waist.

“The old ways are dying,” Murphy says simply. “Lady O’Connor thinks it’s time for new alliances. New ways of doing business.”

Relief floods through me. Siobhan had come through after all.

Through my broken office windows, I hear sirens approaching.

“We need to move,” Marco calls from the shattered window. “DeLuca security is incoming—someone finally called them.”

Sofia pokes her head through the doorway, blood splattered across her face like war paint. Her grin is fierce and wild.

“I told you I’d be useful,” she says cheerfully.

“You had no fucking business being here,” Mario snarls, but his arm stays steady around me. “We’ll discuss your suicidal tendencies later.”

Sofia just sticks out her tongue, looking far too pleased with herself.

Mario turns to me, his body angled protectively as more sirens join the chorus outside. “Ready to get out of here?”

I look around my destroyed office—papers scattered like snow, windows blown out, everything I’ve built lying in chaos around us.

But my hand finds Mario’s, squeezing tight. For the first time since discovering my pregnancy, since watching my carefully constructed world start to crumble, I feel steady.

“Take me home.”

Back in the safe house,Mario’s rage finally explodes. His careful control shatters as he rounds on me.

“What thefuckwere you thinking?” His voice vibrates with fury. “Going to your office alone? After everything we discussed?”

“I was thinking I have a business to run,” I snap back, refusing to be cowed by his anger. “That I can’t just disappear into your protective bubble forever.”

“A business?” He laughs, the sound sharp and bitter. “You almost got yourself killed over fuckingpaperwork?”

“It’s not just paperwork and you know it!” I match his volume, weeks of frustration pouring out. “It’s my life’s work. My independence. Everything I’ve built!”

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