Chapter 24 - The Heartbeat Protocol
Claire lowered her rifle instantly, stepping over the debris without taking her eyes off the opening in the deck. Dante moved defensively to block her path, his jaw clenched, but Claire brushed his wounded arm aside with an effortless, trained diversion strike, dropping to one knee beside the hatch.
"Leo," she whispered, her voice shedding every trace of military frost, softening into the gentle, warm timber the child had learned to trust in the quietest hours of the night.
The tiny head poked out from the reinforced crib beneath the floorboards. Leo’s hazel eyes widened. His small, chubby cheeks were smudged with soot, his lips trembling.
The moment his eyes met Claire’s face, the tension vanished from his small body. He didn't cry. He reached up with both hands, making a joyful, gurgling sound that completely dismantled the grim, blood-soaked atmosphere of the ruined yacht.
Claire reached down, lifting the ten-month-old boy into her arms, pressing his head against the tactical collar of her combat uniform. The child immediately buried his face against her neck, his tiny fist curling around her silver star insignia.
Dante stood frozen, watching the woman who held command over a fleet of warships cradle his son as if nothing else in the universe existed. The icy mafia kingpin felt a sharp ache in his chest—a feeling he had buried years ago beneath layers of ruthlessness and violence.
"He wouldn't stop screaming for forty-eight hours after you vanished," Dante admitted, his voice rough and stripped of pride. "The doctors said it was sensory trauma. But it wasn't. He knew you were gone."
Claire looked up at him, her eyes fierce and unforgiving. "And you brought him into a war zone, Dante. You ran toward Vance’s perimeter instead of handing the coordinates to the proper authorities."
"The 'proper authorities' sold Vance the access codes to my logistics network!" Dante snapped, stepping closer, his towering frame casting a long shadow over them. "The only person on this planet I trust to keep my bloodline alive is currently holding him."
Lieutenant Hayes appeared at the doorway, rifle lowered. "Admiral, satellite reconnaissance shows two heavy frigates leaving Cartagena harbor. Flagged under an unsanctioned paramilitary contractor. ETA twenty-five minutes."
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Dante looked at Claire, his dark eyes sharp. "They aren't here for me, Ellison. They're here for what Leo is wearing."
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