Chapter 10 - The Bait

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"Absolutely not," Dante said, his voice echoing in the concrete bunker. "You are not coming to a mob war, Leah."
"I know Sable's club," Leah fired back, ignoring his glare. "I waitressed there for two weeks last year before I quit because the manager was a creep. I know the layout. I know the blind spots in the kitchen, and I know how to get in through the delivery chute without tripping the alarms."
Enzo looked at Dante, raising an eyebrow. "She has a point, boss. The front door is a meat grinder. If she can get us in through the back..."
Dante pinched the bridge of his nose, warring with himself. Every protective instinct he had screamed to lock her in a vault and throw away the key. But she was right.
"Fine," Dante growled, stepping into her space until she had to tilt her head up to look at him. "But you stay behind me. You do exactly what I say. If I tell you to run, you run. Understood?"
"Understood," Leah swallowed hard, her heart pounding.
Twenty minutes later, Enzo drove them to Brooklyn in a stolen sedan. The rain had turned into a torrential downpour, masking their approach as they pulled into the alley behind "The Velvet Room," Sable’s infamous nightclub.
The heavy bass of the music inside vibrated through the brick walls.
"Two guards on the loading dock," Enzo whispered from the driver's seat.
"I'll handle them," Dante said, pulling a suppressed pistol from his holster. He looked at Leah in the backseat. "Wait for my signal."
Dante slipped out of the car, melting into the shadows like a ghost. A moment later, two soft thwips barely audible over the rain, and the guards crumpled to the ground.
Dante flashed a light. Leah and Enzo ran to the door.
Leah punched a code into the old delivery keypad—one the manager had never bothered to change. The heavy steel door clicked open.
They stepped into the bustling, chaotic heat of the club's kitchen. Waitstaff and cooks were rushing around, completely unaware of the heavily armed men stepping into their territory.
"Down!" Dante roared, firing a single shot into the ceiling.
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Panic erupted. The staff dropped to the floor, screaming.
"Lead the way, Leah," Dante ordered, his eyes scanning the chaos. "Take us to the VIP lounge."