Chapter 5 - The Red Dot
""Down!"" Damian roared, launching his body forward.
He tackled Clara and Daisy to the muddy ground just as a muffled crack ripped through the garden air. A high-caliber bullet shattered the stone gatepost directly behind Clara's head, sending sharp shards of brick and mortar showering over their backs.
Daisy shrieked in absolute terror, burying her face into Clara's neck. Clara squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the impact of a second round, but all she felt was the crushing weight of Damian’s massive frame covering her, his arms wrapped around both of them like a vault of iron.
""Stay down! Don't move!"" Damian snarled into Clara’s ear. His breath was hot against her freezing skin.
""They're shooting at us!"" Clara wept, her fingers clawing into the damp earth. ""Eleanor... she won't let us live. She told me five years ago she would end us both if I ever breathed a word about an heir!""
Damian’s jaw hardened into stone. The red dot was no longer searching; it was retreating toward the roofline of the western wing. His own estate. His own perimeter security, bought and paid for with his fortune, had just turned its weapons on a child.
""Julian,"" Damian gritted out, the pieces snapping together with terrifying clarity. Eleanor hadn't acted alone. Julian Thorne controlled the estate's private contractor roster. ""Julian has been playing both sides.""
Damian rolled off Clara, grabbing Daisy under one arm and pulling Clara up by her wrist with the other. ""To the greenhouse. Move!""
Clara stumbled to her feet, her legs shaking so violently she could barely stand. Damian swept Daisy into his arms, shielding her tiny head under his armpit, while keeping Clara tucked beneath his broad shoulder. They sprinted across the open lawn toward the reinforced glass of the Victorian conservatory.
Another shot clipped the dirt behind Damian’s heels.
They crashed through the heavy glass double doors of the conservatory, Damian slamming the iron bolt in place. Outside, the rain poured in sheets against the glass panels, obscuring the view of the main mansion.
""Mommy..."" Daisy whimpered, her tiny chest wheezing, her breathing growing alarmingly shallow. ""My chest hurts... Mommy, it hurts...""
Clara dropped to her knees, horror turning her veins to ice. ""Her inhaler... her meds are in my locker in the kitchen!""
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Damian knelt down, placing two fingers on Daisy's carotid artery. His face darkened. ""She’s going into ventricular distress. We have ten minutes before she loses consciousness.""
Suddenly, the greenhouse lights flickered and shut off. Outside the glass, the shadow of three armed men in black tactical gear emerged through the rain.
