chapter 11:a wife at war

MARA’S POV

Dante hit the concrete.

For one terrible second, the world stopped moving.

Blood spread across his shirt as he pressed a hand against his chest. His face twisted with pain, but his eyes remained fixed on Rafael.

“DANTE!” I screamed.

Rafael laughed, lowering his smoking pistol.

“Look at that. The mighty Dante Blackwood brought to his knees.”

I wanted to put a bullet between his eyes.

But Sofia and Lia were still surrounded by armed men, and Dante was bleeding on the floor.

I had seconds to decide what mattered most.

The soldier inside me took control.

I dropped beside Dante, pretending to examine his wound while my fingers found the small combat knife strapped beneath my sleeve.

“Stay with me,” I whispered.

His hand closed weakly around my wrist.

“Mara… get the girls.”

“I will. And I'm bringing you home, too.”

I rose before he could argue.

Rafael immediately pointed his gun at me.

“Careful, General. One wrong move, and your husband gets another bullet.”

“You shot an unarmed man after he gave you what you wanted.”

“Your husband is hardly innocent.”

“Maybe not. But at least he doesn't hide behind children.”

His smile vanished.

“Search her!”

One of the guards approached me, his attention fixed on my face rather than my hands.

That was his mistake.

I drove my elbow into his throat, slammed my knee into his stomach, and snatched the pistol from his hand. Before the second guard could raise his weapon, I fired twice.

Gunshots exploded through the warehouse.

Men shouted as bullets tore into the metal containers. I fired at the overhead lights, plunging half the room into darkness.

“GET HER!” Rafael roared.

I ran towards Sofia.

A guard had grabbed her by the arm, dragging her backwards while she screamed for me.

“Let her go!” I shouted.

He pressed his gun against her head.

“Drop the weapon!”

I lowered my pistol slowly.

Sofia's frightened eyes found mine.

“Please, Mara!”

“I've got you, sweetheart.”

The guard smirked, believing he had won.

My knife flew from my hand and struck his forearm. His weapon dropped, and I fired into his leg before he could recover.

Sofia stumbled towards me.

I caught her and pulled her behind a shipping container.

“Where's Lia?”

She pointed towards the opposite side of the warehouse.

My heart sank.

Lia was being dragged through a side door towards the loading area.

“Stay here,” I ordered Sofia.

She grabbed my sleeve.

“Don't leave me!”

I crouched in front of her and held her shoulders.

“Listen to me. Keep your head down. Don't come out until I call you. Understand?”

She nodded through her tears.

I kissed her forehead and ran.

---

DANTE’S POV

Pain burned through my chest.

I had survived ambushes, assassination attempts, and years of bloody wars. Yet I had never felt so helpless as I watched Mara disappear into the gunfire.

My pistol lay several feet away.

I dragged myself towards it, gritting my teeth as the movement sent another wave of agony through my body.

A guard appeared around a container.

I raised my weapon and fired.

He fell.

Another man turned towards me, but I shot him before he could pull the trigger.

My vision blurred.

I forced myself to breathe slowly.

Mara was out there, fighting for my daughters.

My daughters.

For eighteen months, I had told myself that everything I did was for them. I had built an empire to secure their future, fought enemies to protect their inheritance, and sacrificed everything to keep the Blackwood name powerful.

But I had left them in a house where they were frightened and neglected.

Mara had arrived as a stranger, an unwanted bride I had never even bothered to meet.

Yet she had done what I had failed to do.

She had made my children feel safe.

Now she was risking her life for them while I lay bleeding on a warehouse floor.

“Not tonight,” I growled.

I forced myself upright, gripping the wall for support.

I would not die here.

Not while my daughters needed me.

And not while Mara was fighting alone.

---

MARA’S POV

The side door slammed shut just as I reached it.

I struck the lock with the butt of my pistol, then fired twice. The door swung open, revealing a narrow loading area beside the river.

A black van stood nearby with its rear doors open.

One of Rafael's men was dragging Lia towards it.

“STOP!”

He turned and pulled the little girl in front of him.

“Drop your weapon, or she dies!”

I froze.

His eyes darted towards the road, where another vehicle waited with its engine running. They weren't simply trying to escape. They intended to take Lia somewhere else.

I lowered my pistol.

“Let her go. Take me instead.”

He laughed.

“You think Rafael wants you alive?”

I already knew the answer.

Rafael wanted Dante dead, the girls as leverage, and me captured or killed once I had served my purpose.

But I wasn't going to let him take another child.

I stepped forward carefully.

“She's frightened. Let me calm her down.”

“Stay back!”

Lia's cheeks were wet with tears.

“Mara…”

I looked directly into her eyes.

“Remember what I taught you, sweetheart? If someone grabs you, make yourself difficult to hold.”

The man frowned.

“What are you—”

Lia stamped hard on his foot.

He cursed and loosened his grip.

She twisted free.

I fired at the van's rear tyre and rushed forward, catching Lia as she stumbled towards me.

The man swung his weapon towards us.

I turned my body to shield her.

A gunshot cracked through the air.

Pain exploded across my upper arm.

I staggered, nearly dropping Lia, but forced myself to remain standing. With my uninjured hand, I raised my pistol and fired.

The man fell beside the van.

I gathered Lia against my chest.

“Are you hurt?”

She shook her head, clinging desperately to my neck.

“I'm scared!”

“I know, baby. I've got you.”

I pressed my lips to her forehead, ignoring the blood running down my arm.

Then footsteps sounded behind me.

I spun, raising my pistol.

Dante stood in the doorway, pale and unsteady, one hand pressed against his chest.

“Dante?”

His gaze dropped to my wounded arm.

“You've been shot.”

“So have you.”

He reached for Lia, and she immediately threw herself into his arms.

“Daddy!”

Dante held her tightly, pressing his cheek against her hair.

“I'm here, princess. Daddy's here.”

For one brief moment, the three of us stood together beneath the cold harbour lights.

Then I remembered Sofia.

I had left her hiding inside the warehouse.

“Dante, we need to get Sofia.”

He nodded, though the movement seemed to cost him dearly.

We hurried towards the entrance.

Before we reached it, a voice thundered through the darkness.

“BLACKWOOD!”

Rafael emerged from the warehouse, surrounded by armed men.

And behind him, another guard dragged Sofia into the light.

The little girl was crying, struggling desperately against his grip.

A pistol pressed against her head.

Dante raised his weapon, but his injured arm trembled.

Rafael smiled as he looked from Dante to me.

“Now, General, let's see how many people you can save at once.”

He lifted his gun towards Sofia.

And before I could pull the trigger, Rafael fired.

End of Chapter 11.