Chapter 15 - THE EDGE OF THE ABYSSBANG!
The bullet struck the stone frame right beside Emma’s head, showering her in stone dust. The sudden shock made her lose her balance on the polished marble floor. She slipped, tumbling backward over the edge of the secondary balcony railing.
"EMMA!" Alejandro roared.
Dropping his weapon, Alejandro launched himself forward like a panther, diving across the slippery floor.
Emma fell through the open air, her pink backpack fluttering behind her.
Just as her small frame cleared the marble ledge, Alejandro’s hand shot out. His thick, battle-scarred fingers clamped tightly around Emma’s tiny wrist, stopping her fall in mid-air.
The momentum nearly pulled Alejandro over the edge, but he dug his boots into the decorative ironwork of the railing, his muscles straining as he held his niece suspended over the three-story drop.
"I've got you! I've got you, Emma!" Alejandro gritted his teeth, his arm trembling from the extreme strain. "Don't look down! Look at me!"
Emma hung over the yawning abyss of the main foyer, clutching her thỏ with her free hand, tears streaming down her dusty cheeks. "Uncle Alejandro! Don't let go!"
"Never!" Alejandro snarled through his teeth. "I will never let you go!"
Above them on the landing, Lucas staggered forward, raising his revolver to shoot Alejandro in the back while he was helpless.
"Die, brother!" Lucas shrieked.
THWACK!
A heavy iron candlestick swung from the shadows, striking Lucas squarely across the face. Lucas groaned, his gun flying out of his hand as he collapsed onto the marble floor.
Standing over him, her fractured leg wrapped in temporary splints, leaning heavily on a metal crutch, was Elena. Her eyes burned with a mother's fierce, unstoppable protective rage.
"Touch my family again," Elena panted, her voice shaking with power, "and I will kill you myself."
Alejandro used every ounce of his remaining strength to pull Emma up over the ledge, hauling her back onto the solid marble floor. He wrapped both arms around her, pulling her close to his chest as she sobbed uncontrollably.
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Outside, the thunderous roar of military helicopter blades cut through the blizzard. Heavy tactical spotlights flooded the mansion through the skylights.
The siege of Blackwood Estate was finally over. But as the medics rushed in, Emma’s grip on Alejandro’s coat suddenly loosened, and her breathing became shallow and raspy once again.
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