Chapter 25
Down on the street, Gabriel was reloading his sidearm, assessing the grim tactical situation. The Romanov mercenaries were closing the perimeter, advancing with heavy suppressive fire. He prepared to make a desperate push toward the alleyway to draw fire away from his men.
Suddenly, a loud, terrifying, mechanical shriek echoed from the adjacent commercial shipping yard.
A massive, multi-ton commercial locomotive, stripped of its cargo cars, burst through the heavy chain-link perimeter gates. Sparks showered the air as the steel wheels screamed against the pavement, derailing entirely as it plowed directly across the avenue.
The sheer momentum of the locomotive carried it like a steel battering ram. It crashed violently into the unmarked garbage truck acting as the enemy blockade, crushing the heavy vehicle like a tin can and sending it skidding down the street in a shower of twisted metal and fire.
The Romanov mercenaries froze in absolute shock, their elevated positions suddenly compromised by the sheer, chaotic devastation unfolding below them.
"Move! Now!" Gabriel roared, seizing the moment of distraction.
He and his enforcers surged forward, using the massive derailed locomotive as heavy cover. The element of surprise had completely shifted. Gabriel moved ruthlessly, neutralizing the remaining, disoriented mercenaries with terrifying efficiency.
Within minutes, the street fell silent, save for the hissing of steam from the derailed train and the crackle of burning metal.
Gabriel stood amidst the wreckage, his suit covered in dust and debris, a small cut bleeding above his eyebrow. He looked up at the glass tower, his chest heaving. He knew exactly who had ordered the train.
He holstered his weapon and began sprinting the remaining two blocks toward the headquarters.
He burst through the front lobby, bypassing the terrified security guards, and took the private elevator straight to the executive floor.
The elevator doors slid open. Rachel was standing there waiting for him. She looked pale, her charcoal suit immaculate, but her eyes were wild with adrenaline and terror.
Gabriel crossed the distance between them in two massive strides, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her flush against his chest. He buried his face in her brown hair, breathing in the scent of her, feeling the rapid, frantic beating of her heart against his own.
"You crashed a train," Gabriel whispered, a mixture of profound shock and immense, overwhelming pride in his voice.
"I told you I was going to manage the logistics," Rachel choked out, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder. "Are you hurt? Tell me you're not hurt."
"I'm fine," Gabriel pulled back slightly, framing her face with his large, calloused hands. "You saved my life, Rachel. You saved all of our lives."
"Vanessa thought she could break us by threatening our family," Rachel said, her brown eyes blazing with a fierce, motherly wrath that mirrored Gabriel’s own lethal intensity. "She doesn't know what a mother will do to protect her child. I will burn every ship, every train, and every warehouse in this city before I let her touch a hair on Lily's head."
Gabriel looked at his wife. The quiet, gentle maid he had married was gone, replaced by a formidable queen who ruled alongside him.
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"We need to get to the estate," Gabriel said, his voice hardening. "The Romanovs are going to retaliate for this. We are moving you and Lily to the subterranean bunker until this is over."
"No," Rachel said firmly, stepping back and walking toward her desk to grab her encrypted laptop. "We aren't hiding, Gabriel. The Romanovs only fight for money. If I can drain their accounts, they will drop Vanessa like a stone. I need three hours on the secure servers at the estate. I am going to bankrupt them."
