Chapter 7 - THE DEBT PAID IN BLOOD
“Frank!” Nico roared.
He stepped entirely out from cover, abandoning caution.
His face was a mask of pure, absolute fury.
He fired three times in rapid succession.
The mercenary who had shot Frank dropped, his rifle clattering against the marble floor.
The last remaining gunman took one look at Nico’s face, dropped his weapon, and ran out the front door into the storm.
Silence fell over the foyer, broken only by the sound of the rain and Frank’s heavy breathing.
Nico dropped his gun and sprinted to the stairs, dropping to his knees beside the older man.
I was right behind him, tearing off my apron to press it against the bleeding wound in Frank’s shoulder.
“Hold on, Frank,” Nico said, his voice raw. “Tessa, keep the pressure on. I’m calling the private doctor.”
Frank coughed, a weak smile touching his lips.
“I ruined my good jacket, sir.”
“I’ll buy you a hundred jackets,” Nico said, pressing his hand over mine to add weight to the wound. “Just stay awake.”
“I’m awake,” Frank murmured, wincing. “Took worse than this protecting your father in ’98.”
I pressed harder, my hands covered in blood.
“You saved his life,” I cried.
Frank looked at me, his eyes softening.
“I promised Elena I’d protect her family. And Nico... he’s family too.”
The heavy front doors, left swinging open by the fleeing gunman, creaked loudly.
Someone stepped inside.
It was Marcus Whitman.
He had managed to escape the basement restraints.
His suit was torn, his face bruised, but he was holding a heavy, black pistol.
And he had Laurel by the arm.
She looked terrified, clutching her wrist where I had struck her with the ledger.
“Touching,” Marcus sneered, wiping blood from his lip. “The loyal dog takes a bullet for the master.”
Nico slowly stood up.
He didn't reach for his gun on the floor.
He stood between Marcus and us, a human shield.
“It’s over, Marcus,” Nico said, his voice completely devoid of fear. “Your men are dead or gone. You have nothing.”
Marcus laughed, but it sounded desperate.
“I have the gun, Nico. And I want the ledger.”
He pointed the weapon at me.
“The maid has it. Hand it over, Elena’s little girl.”
I looked at the heavy leather book resting on the stairs next to me.
“Don't do it, Tessa,” Nico ordered, not taking his eyes off Marcus.
“If she doesn't, I shoot you, then I shoot the old man, and then I take it anyway,” Marcus said.
Laurel whimpered.
“Marcus, please, just let's go. The police will come—”
“Shut up!” Marcus backhanded her, sending her stumbling to the floor.
Laurel curled into a ball, weeping.
Marcus aimed the gun directly at Nico’s chest.
“The book.”
I picked up the heavy ledger.
My hands were shaking, slippery with Frank’s blood.
“Okay,” I said. “Take it.”
I stood up and walked down two steps, holding the book out.
Nico blocked my path.
“Tessa, no.”
“It’s just a book, Nico,” I whispered, looking into his eyes. “It’s not worth his life. It’s not worth yours.”
I pushed past him.
I walked toward Marcus, the ledger held out in front of me.
Marcus smiled triumphantly.
He reached out with his left hand to grab the book, keeping the gun aimed at Nico with his right.
As his fingers closed over the leather cover, I didn't let go.
I remembered what I had done to Laurel.
But this time, I didn't push it up.
I pulled it hard toward me.
Marcus lost his balance for a fraction of a second, stumbling forward.
In that exact moment, Nico moved.
He closed the distance with terrifying speed.
He grabbed Marcus’s gun hand, twisting it sharply upward.
The gun went off, the bullet burying itself in the high ceiling.
Nico didn't stop.
He drove his knee into Marcus’s stomach, then delivered a brutal, punishing strike to his jaw.
Marcus collapsed onto the marble floor, unconscious before he even landed.
Nico stood over him, breathing heavily.
He looked back at me.
I was standing there, still holding my mother’s ledger against my chest.
Nico walked over to me.
He gently took the heavy book from my hands and tossed it onto a nearby chair.
May you like
Then, without a word, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me tightly against his chest.
TITLE: THE ASHES OF THE PAST
