His grip loosened slightly.
Then the boutique windows exploded.
Glass shattered violently across the showroom.
Women screamed. Bodyguards reached for weapons.
Luca grabbed me instantly, throwing me behind a marble display as gunfire erupted outside.
My ears rang.
Chaos swallowed the boutique.
Someone shouted in Russian. Another man fired back.
Luca’s arm wrapped around me protectively while bullets shattered shelves nearby.
The saleswoman collapsed crying beside the register.
Vanessa crouched behind another display while Luca’s men formed a defensive line near the entrance.
“Get her out the back!” someone yelled.
Luca looked down at me.
For one brief second, all the coldness disappeared from his face.
Only fear remained.
Real fear.
For me. For the baby.
“Can you run?” he asked.
“At eight months pregnant?”
Another gunshot exploded nearby.
