Chapter 6 - The Fortress in the Sky
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“Answer it,” Dominic ordered, stepping back just enough to give her space but keeping his dark eyes fixed on her face. “Put it on speaker. Do not tell him you are with me.”
Chloe’s finger trembled as she swiped the screen. “Tommy?”
“Chloe! Oh God, Chloe, are you okay?” Tommy’s voice was frantic, breathless, and laced with pure terror. Sirens wailed faintly in the background of his audio.
“I’m fine, Tommy. Where are you? What did you do?!” she cried, tears finally spilling over her cheeks.
“Listen to me, you can't go back to your apartment!” Tommy practically screamed. “Victor Volkov’s guys are looking for you. They raided my place an hour ago. I barely got out the fire escape. I stole something, Chlo. Something big.”
“I know, Tommy,” Chloe said, her voice shaking. “Volkov sent men to the Obsidian Club. They tried to take me tonight.”
A horrifying silence fell over the line.
“They found you?” Tommy whispered, his voice cracking with despair. “Oh Jesus. Chloe, run. You have to run. Go to the police, tell them you don't know anything—”
“The police can't help us, Tommy,” Dominic’s deep, commanding voice suddenly cut in.
“Who the hell is that?!” Tommy yelled.
“This is Dominic Russo,” Dominic said calmly, taking the phone from Chloe’s hand. “Your sister is currently under my protection. If you want her to stay breathing, you are going to bring the encrypted drives you stole from Victor Volkov to me.”
“Russo?” Tommy gasped. “Are you crazy?! If I give you those drives, Volkov will slaughter my entire family!”
“Volkov is already trying to slaughter your family, Thomas,” Dominic stated coldly. “I am the only man in this city with enough firepower to keep the Russians off your back. You bring me the ledger, and I erase your gambling debts, put you on a private jet to Europe, and ensure your sister is safe.”
“I… I can't,” Tommy stammered, panic consuming him. “I don't have them on me! I hid them! Volkov’s men shot me, Russo. I’m bleeding out in an alley in Southie. I can't walk.”
Chloe let out a choked sob, reaching for the phone. “Tommy! You're shot?!”
“Keep your head down, Thomas,” Dominic ordered, his expression hardening into stone. “Send me your GPS coordinates. I am sending a medical extraction team. Do not move.”
The line went dead.
Dominic tossed the phone back to Chloe. “We need to get to the safehouse. Now.”
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Twenty minutes later, they emerged from the tunnels and entered a heavily armored black SUV waiting in a private garage. Dominic drove them to a towering glass skyscraper in the financial district. They took a private elevator to the very top floor, stepping into a sprawling, modern penthouse fortress.
“Welcome to the sanctuary,” Dominic said, locking the heavy steel doors behind them. “Make yourself comfortable, waitress. We are going to war.”
