Chapter 9 - The Return of the King
Leo’s gray coat was gone, his white shirt stained with dark grease and blood at the shoulder. He was holding his heavy black semi-automatic pistol, his arm perfectly steady, his eyes burning with a dark, terrifying light that made the first man—the one with the broken wrist—shrink back against the floor in terror.
"Mateo," Leo said, his voice quiet, calm, and carrying a cold, lethal authority that made the room seem to freeze. "Clean this up."
Mateo Calder stepped into the room behind him, two of his guards following, their weapons drawn. They quickly grabbed the dead man by his coat and dragged him out of the room, while another guard lifted the screaming man with the broken wrist, his hand covering his mouth to silence the noise.
Leo didn't look at them. He dropped his pistol into his holster and ran to the bed, his large hands grabbing Beatrice’s shoulders, lifting her from the floor as if she weighed nothing.
"Beatrice," he gasped, his voice trembling with an emotion she had never heard in it before. "Are you hit? Did they touch you?"
"I'm... I'm fine," she whispered, her eyes filling with tears as the adrenaline finally began to fade, leaving her body shaking with a violent, uncontrollable sob. "Lily... Lily is safe. She’s in the crawlspace. With Thomas."
Leo let out a long, ragged breath, his forehead leaning against hers for a brief, beautiful second of warmth before he turned toward the closet.
"Lily!" he called out, his voice loud and clear. "Princess, it's Papa! You can come out now!"
The wooden panel in the back of the closet slid open with a soft creak, and Thomas stepped out, holding Lily in his arms. The little girl looked around the ruined room, her eyes widening as she saw her father, and she lunged forward, her small arms wrapping around his neck as he scooped her up.
"Papa!" she cried, her tears finally falling hot and fast. "The bad men... they had guns! But Bee... Bee hit them with the poker!"
Leo held his daughter tight, his eyes locked on Beatrice, who was standing near the bed, her hand clutching her splinted wrist, her face covered in sweat and tears.
"She did, baby," Leo whispered, his voice thick with an emotion he couldn't hide. "She’s a hero."
May you like
He walked over to Beatrice, holding Lily with one arm, and wrapped his other arm around Beatrice’s shoulders, pulling her against his chest.
They stood there in the middle of the ruined room, the three of them, a strange, beautiful family of survivors holding onto each other in the warm, quiet light of a home they had fought to keep.
