Chapter 7 - Breaking the SilenceThe heavy SUV surged forward across the concrete lot, headlights blazing as I cut directly between Dominic’s position and the warehouse doors, turning the vehicle into a rolling steel shield.
Clang! Clang!
Bullets slammed into the reinforced passenger doors like heavy hailstones, starring the glass and tearing through the body panels. I ducked low behind the steering wheel, my foot jammed hard on the accelerator, steering entirely by adrenaline.
The SUV slammed to a halt right beside Dominic and the cowering Arthur.
The passenger-side door jerked open, and Dominic dived inside, his face pale with fury and disbelief.
“Are you out of your goddamn mind?!” Dominic roared over the sound of incoming gunfire.
“You were getting shot at, I improvised!” I yelled back, throwing the car into reverse and spinning the wheel hard.
Marcus and the rest of the security team scrambled behind our vehicle, returning fire as they retreated toward the second SUV. Dominic reached across the center console, grabbing the steering wheel alongside me, helping me guide the bullet-riddled vehicle backward out of the killing zone and behind the safety of the shipping containers.
The gunfire slowly tapered off as the enemy realized they had lost their tactical advantage and tactical reinforcement sirens began wailing in the distance—local police drawn by the gunshots.
Inside the smoky, bullet-scarred interior of the SUV, heavy breathing was the only sound.
Dominic turned his head slowly, looking at me. His chest heaved beneath his ruined suit jacket, a streak of soot smeared across his jawline.
“You could have been killed,” he said, his voice dangerously low, trembling with a mixture of rage and terror I had never seen in him before.
“Well, you’re welcome for the save,” I shot back, my hands shaking uncontrollably now that the adrenaline was starting to wear off.
Dominic stared at me for a long, intense second. Then, before I could process what was happening, he reached across the console, grabbed the back of my neck, pulled me forward, and crushed his lips against mine.
The kiss wasn't gentle. It was desperate, fierce, and raw—born from the terrifying realization of how close we had just come to losing everything. For a second, the gunfire, the mafia vendetta, the ghosts of the past, and the dangerous present all vanished. My hands instinctively curled into the lapels of his ruined jacket, pulling him closer as the world spun away.
When Dominic finally pulled back, his forehead rested against mine, both of us breathing heavily.
“Don't ever do that again,” he whispered against my lips.
“Only if you stop running into gunfights alone,” I whispered back.
A ghost of a true, genuine smile touched the corner of his lips.
Outside, Marcus tapped sharply on the driver-side window. Dominic sighed, pulled back reluctantly, and rolled down the glass.
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“Boss,” Marcus reported, looking tense. “We secured Arthur. He’s in the second SUV. But the shooters got away in a speed boat across the river. They were professionals, Dominic. Not local thugs.”
Dominic’s expression hardened back into the ruthless mafia boss. “I know. They were corporate clean-up crew.” He looked back at me. “We’re going back to the mansion. And this time, Arthur is going to tell us who hired him.”
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