CHAPTER 25 : The King Falls

"MARCUS!" I screamed, my voice tearing at my throat. "HELP HIM!"

The sound of heavy boots thundered down the stairs. Marcus and the rest of the security team burst into the basement, weapons drawn.

They stopped dead.

They saw the carnage. The unconscious body of Luca Vencetti on the floor. The blood splattered on the walls. And their invincible boss, Julian Thorne, lying pale and broken in my arms.

"Secure the perimeter!" Marcus barked, snapping out of his shock. He Holstered his weapon and slid to his knees beside us. "Code Red! Man down! I repeat, the Principal is down!"

"He’s bleeding out," I sobbed, pressing my hands frantically against Julian’s lower back. The blood was hot and sticky, seeping through my fingers faster than I could stop it. "The knife... it’s still in there."

"Don't touch it," Marcus ordered, his face grim. "If we pull it out, he bleeds out in seconds. We need to move him. Now."

"The ambulance is five minutes out," a guard shouted from the stairs.

"We don't have five minutes!" Marcus roared. "Grab his legs. On three. One, two, three!"

They lifted Julian. He groaned, a low, guttural sound of agony, but his eyes remained closed. His head lolled back, his neck limp.

I scrambled up, my legs shaking so hard I could barely stand. I ran after them as they carried him up the stairs, past the broken steel door, and out into the rain.

They shoved him into the back of the armored SUV.

"I’m coming with him," I said, grabbing the door handle before Marcus could close it.

"Mrs. Thorne," Marcus said, blocking my path. "It’s not safe. You need to go in the second vehicle. We have to drive fast."

"I don't care!" I shouted, shoving the burly head of security. I didn't care that he was armed. I didn't care that he was twice my size. "That is my husband bleeding on that seat! I am not leaving him!"

Marcus looked at me. He saw the blood on my face, the wildness in my eyes. He saw the Vencetti fire that Luca had talked about.

He stepped aside. "Get in."

I climbed in, crawling over the leather seats to get to Julian. I took his hand. It was ice cold.

"Drive!" I yelled at the driver.

The SUV peeled out of the lot, sirens blaring.

"Stay with me, Julian," I whispered, squeezing his hand. "You promised. You said you would burn the city down. You can't do that if you're dead."

He didn't answer. His breathing was shallow, rattling in his chest.

The ride to the private trauma center was a blur of lights and speed. When we arrived, a team of doctors was waiting at the bay doors. They swarmed the car, pulling Julian onto a gurney.

"BP is dropping! 60 over 40!"

"We have a penetrating abdominal wound. Possible kidney perforation."

"Prep OR 1! Stat!"

They ran with the gurney. I ran beside them, holding his hand until we hit the double doors of the surgical wing.

"Ma'am, you can't go in there," a nurse said, stepping in front of me.

"He needs me!"

"You need to let them work," the nurse said firmly. She looked at my ruined red dress, the blood smeared on my skin. "Are you injured? Is this your blood?"

I looked down at myself. I was covered in red.

"No," I whispered, my voice breaking. "It’s his."

The doors swung shut, swallowing Julian whole. The red "SURGERY IN PROGRESS" light flickered on above the door.

I was alone in the sterile white hallway.

I sank into a plastic chair, staring at the closed doors. The adrenaline was fading, replaced by a cold, crushing numbness.

He had taken a knife for me. He had walked into a trap, unarmed, and offered his life for mine.

You aren't an asset, Vivian. You never were.

I put my head in my hands and wept.

"Mrs. Thorne?"

I looked up. Marcus was standing there. He looked uncomfortable. He was holding a phone.

"The police commissioner is on the line," Marcus said. "And the press is swarming the lobby. They know he was shot... stabbed. They’re saying the Thorne Empire is crumbling."

He held out the phone.

"They want a statement. They want to know who is in charge."

I stared at the phone.

I wiped the tears from my face. I looked at the blood on my hands. It was the blood of the man who had protected me since I was a child.

If I fell apart now, everything he built would be destroyed. The Vencettis (whoever was left), the police, the rivals , they would tear his legacy apart while he fought for his life.

I stood up. I straightened my spine.

"Give me the phone," I said.

Marcus blinked, surprised by the steel in my voice. He handed it over.

I put the phone to my ear.

"This is Mrs. Thorne," I said, my voice steady and cold.

"Mrs. Thorne," the Commissioner blustered. "This is a disaster. We have reports of a massacre at the old warehouse. Bodies. Fire. I need to know what is going on. Is Julian alive?"

"My husband is undergoing a routine medical procedure," I lied smoothly. "As for the warehouse... I believe that was a dispute between local gangs. Mr. Thorne had nothing to do with it."

"But the bodies"

"If you value your position, Commissioner," I cut him off, channeling every ounce of Julian’s terrifying authority, "you will clear the scene and list it as a gang altercation. Do not make me call the Mayor."

I hung up before he could answer.

I handed the phone back to Marcus.

"Clear the lobby," I ordered. "No press. No photos. If anyone tries to get onto this floor, you have my permission to shoot them."

Marcus stared at me. A slow look of respect dawned on his face. He nodded.

"Yes, Ma'am."

He walked away to secure the floor.

I turned back to the surgery doors.

"I’m holding the kingdom together, Julian," I whispered to the red light. "Now you have to wake up and take it back."