"South gate breached!"
"Shots fired!"
"Man down!"
"We've got hostiles inside!"
"Protect Mr. Santos!"
Dante ignored every order—every single one. There was only one person he cared about protecting, and that was Lark. He sprinted through the marble hallway, shoving two armed guards out of his way.
"Move!" he shouted.
Another explosion rattled the mansion, shaking dust from the ceiling. Somewhere downstairs, glass shattered as men screamed for help. Who the hell was attacking? Honestly, it didn't matter. He reached Lark's hallway just as two of Santos's soldiers rounded the corner.
"Boss wants everyone downstairs!" one barked.
Dante never slowed. "I'm getting the daughter."
"The boss said—" The guard started, but Dante wasn’t about to let him finish that sentence.
"I don't give a damn what he said." He slammed into the first guard with enough force to knock him into the wall before continuing toward Lark's room. The second man cursed as he ran after him, but Dante didn't look back.
He shoved the bedroom door open and looked around the room. "Lark!"
She turned from the balcony, her eyes wide. "Dante!” Relief nearly buckled his knees. She was alive. Maria stood beside her, pale as a ghost.
"What the hell is happening?" Lark demanded.
"I don't know,” Dante admitted. Another burst of gunfire echoed much closer this time, and Dante crossed the room in three strides and grabbed Lark's hands.
"We're leaving,” he ordered.
Her eyebrows shot up. "What?"
"We're getting out of here,” he said.
Maria stared at him. "You can't mean?—"
"I do,” Dante said.
Lark searched his face. "What about my father?"
"I don't care,” he lied. He knew that leaving the compound with Lark by his side was his way of signing both of their death certificates, but he couldn’t think about that right now. He'd stopped caring about Rafael Santos somewhere between the first lie and the thousandth corpse.
"He'll kill you,” Lark said.
"Probably."
"You'll lose your sister,” she continued. Pain sliced through his chest as he thought of Sofia. He thought of the picture Santos had slid across his desk and the promise he'd made himself to find and save her. But then, he looked at Lark—bruised,terrified, and just moments away from being sold to the highest bidder- and his decision became terrifyingly simple.
"If I leave you here.—” His voice cracked. "I'll lose myself for good."
Silence filled the room, and Maria quietly stepped backward. "I'll buy you time."
"No." Dante shook his head. "I'm not leaving you.”
The older woman smiled sadly. "My husband worked with your father.” Dante frowned. "He died protecting Isabella." He felt as though everything stopped around him. Lark looked between them in shock as Maria reached into her apron pocket. "I hoped I'd never need this." She handed Dante a small brass key. "It’s to the old wine cellar."
