He looked down at Valentina one last time, his expression hardening into absolute finality. He holstered his sidearm, grabbed Valentina by the arm with a grip like iron, and hauled her roughly to her feet, shoving her ahead of him down the corridor.
“You’re coming with me,” Lorenzo ordered. “If your associates want to burn this house down to tie up loose ends, you’re going to help me watch them try.”
They raced down the stairs, cutting through the shadows of the ground floor toward the hidden service elevator that led directly to the lower subterranean level. The sound of heavy gunfire echoed from deep beneath the mansion—short, sharp bursts of tactical submachine gun fire clashing against the reinforced security doors of the bunker.
As they reached the service hatch, the heavy steel door of the lower level shuddered under the impact of a thermal breaching charge. A blinding flash of white-hot plasma sparked against the reinforced frame, followed by a deafening roar that shook the very foundations of the Moretti estate.
Lorenzo shoved Valentina behind a concrete pillar, raised his weapon, and prepared for the final onslaught. The trap had sprung, but the hunters were about to discover they were locked inside the cage with the apex predator.
