Chapter 10 - The Choice in the Dark
The third gunman climbed the stairs, his rifle tracking Maya as she retreated toward the upper corridor.
"Maya! Run!" Julian yelled, his voice cracking with an emotion she had never heard from him before—fear. Not for himself, but for her.
She turned to run, but her foot caught on the hem of her silk gown. She fell hard against the marble floor, her shoulder slamming into a heavy brass pedestal. She looked back, her eyes wide with terror as the gunman reached the top of the stairs, aiming his weapon directly at her chest.
A heavy, muscular body slammed into her, throwing her into the recess of a doorways.
It was Julian. He had tackled her to the floor, using his own broad back as a shield.
A volley of automatic fire ripped through the corridor, shattering the portraits on the walls, throwing plaster and wood splinters over them like snow. Julian groaned, his body stiffening as a bullet grazed his shoulder, dark crimson blood instantly soaking through his white linen shirt.
"Julian!" Maya screamed, her hands finding the wet warmth of his blood.
"I’m... I’m fine," he growled, his jaw clenched as he forced himself up. He raised his handgun with his good arm, firing three rapid shots down the hallway. The gunman collapsed against the banister, then tumbled over the edge into the hall below.
The house became quiet again, save for the sound of the rain and the distant, fading screams of Derek’s retreating men in the courtyard.
Julian slumped against the wall, his breathing ragged. He looked down at Maya, his dark eyes wide, searching her face for any sign of injury.
"Are you hurt?" he whispered, his voice trembling. "Did they touch you?"
"No," she sobbed, her tears mixing with the dust and plaster on her cheeks. "No, I’m fine. But you... you’re bleeding. You took a bullet for me."
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Julian let out a weak, dry laugh, his hand reaching up to touch her face. His thumb was warm, tracing the line of her jaw with a tenderness that shattered the remaining walls around his heart.
"I told you, Maya," he whispered, his eyes locking onto hers with a fierce, absolute certainty. "No one touches my property. And no one hurts my wife."
