All Chapters of The Glass Rose : Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

Lucien's POV Alessia’s sharp nod from across the dinner table was all the signal I needed, and I slipped out of the Great Hall before the guards could even register my movement because I could see that Nico’s spot on the security detail was empty, and the tracking device on my phone showed his signal moving rapidly toward the old stone bell tower at the northern edge of the cliff. The wind from the sea was screaming through the open arches of the stone walkway and the rain was hitting my face like small stones, and I pulled my pistol from its holster as I began to climb the winding steps of the tower where the sound of the waves below was loud enough to drown out my own footsteps. I reached the top platform where the massive bronze bell hung from the rafters and I saw Nico trying to tie a rope to the heavy iron railing so he could rappel down to a waiting speed boat in the dark water."You aren't going anywhere, Nico, because Alessia found your little toy under the dining room and s

Lucien's POV The ceiling of the grand staircase was dropping flakes of white plaster onto our shoulders as another heavy shell hit the outer towers, and I had to lean heavily against the stone balustrade because my thigh was throbbing with a sharp heat that made me curse under my breath while Alessia kept her rifle pointed toward the high wooden doors of the family chapel. The smoke from the lower docks was drifting through the broken stained-glass windows and it carried the sharp stink of burning oil and sulfur, and two of Francesco’s personal guards stepped out of the shadows with their hands on their submachine guns and signaled that we were the only ones expected inside."The Don is waiting at the altar with your brother and he wants the bloodline united before the main walls give way, so leave your long guns with us or you won't be stepping past the threshold," the older guard said as he held out a metal bin for our weapons."If I give you my rifle I’m keeping my sidearm and i

Alessia's POV The heavy iron vault door ground shut behind us with a terrible screech that echoed through the lower tunnels, and I held my rifle tight against my chest while Lucien limped heavily beside me because the concrete floor was shaking from the impact of the naval shells hitting the main structure above our heads. We could hear the loud boom of shotguns and the sharp rattling of automatic fire coming from the grand staircase, and I knew the Legacy Council's mercenaries had already breached the upper levels while my father was hiding in his office and leaving his men to get slaughtered in the dark. "We need to get to the main hall before they cut off the escape routes to the harbor, so give me that extra magazine and keep your eyes on the side doors," Lucien said as he wiped a streak of black soot from his forehead and checked the chamber of his pistol. "The old Dons are still trapped in the dining hall and they don't even know that my father left them behind to die, so w

Alessia's POV ​The smoke from the upper study followed us down the stone steps as the whole cliffside shuddered from a direct hit by the naval artillery, and I had to grab Lucien around the waist because his bad leg buckled completely and his fresh bandage was already soaked through with a wide stain of dark blood. We could hear the sea water roaring into the lower tunnels below us because the outer gates had completely given way, and the freezing spray was shooting up through the floorboards as we pushed our way into the darkness of the private sea cave where my father kept his escape vessel hidden from the rest of the family. "You need to let me drop for a second so I can tighten this cloth around my thigh because I can't feel my foot anymore, and if the mercenaries are waiting by the dock I won't be able to lift my weapon," Lucien groaned as he slumped against the wet granite wall and tried to pull his belt tight above the wound. "We aren't stopping here because the tide is r

Matteo's POV ​The gravel was crunching loud under my boots and my hands wouldn't stop shaking as I pushed open the unlocked door of the farmhouse, and my face felt stiff where the flying stone from the chapel roof had torn across my cheek but the real pain was the freezing sweat that kept dripping down my spine because Doctor Rossi's chemicals were finally leaving my system and leaving my head completely hollow. I stumbled into the dim kitchen and saw Lucien standing by the hallway with his hand on his holster while Alessia dropped a wet towel into the sink, and they both looked at me like I was a ghost that had just crawled out of the sea to ruin their quiet morning. "You're alive, Matteo, and we thought you were caught under the rubble of the main altar when the bell tower came down because we waited by the sea cave for ten minutes and you never showed up," Alessia said as she ran over and tried to touch my face but I pulled away because her skin felt too hot against mine. "I d