Chapter 6 - The Breach
|
Ten agonizing minutes passed in the pitch-black silence of the kitchen. The only sound was the synchronized, shallow breathing of the husband and wife waiting for war.
Then, a faint, metallic scraping echoed from the far end of the service corridor.
Dante placed a heavy hand on Elena’s shoulder, a silent command to hold her position. He raised his suppressed pistol, resting the barrel on the cold marble of the kitchen island.
The heavy, fire-rated door of the emergency stairwell was violently kicked open.
Three men poured into the service corridor. They wore dark tactical gear and night-vision goggles, moving with the practiced, silent efficiency of professional killers. They didn't sweep the rooms like amateurs; they moved in a tight formation, heading straight for the master suite where they assumed Dante would be sleeping.
They never saw the ambush coming.
Dante didn't wait for them to reach the main hallway. He squeezed the trigger three times in rapid succession. The suppressed weapon let out a series of sharp, pneumatic hisses.
The lead assassin dropped instantly, a bullet tearing through his visor. The second man stumbled backward, clutching his throat as he collapsed against the expensive wallpaper.
The third man reacted with terrifying speed. He dove behind a heavy oak credenza, raising his automatic rifle and unleashing a deafening, unsuppressed burst of gunfire blindly into the dark.
The kitchen exploded into chaos. Bullets shattered the custom glass cabinetry above Dante and Elena, raining sharp, glittering shards down upon them.
“Stay down!” Dante roared over the gunfire, grabbing Elena and pulling her tight against the floor.
The assassin paused to reload. It was a fatal, two-second mistake.
Dante vaulted over the kitchen island with the grace of a predator, landing in the corridor and firing two precise shots into the credenza. The heavy bullets punched through the wood, silencing the gunman instantly.
The penthouse fell quiet again, save for the ringing in their ears.
May you like
“Is it over?” Elena gasped, brushing broken glass from her sweater as she stood up.
“No,” Dante said grimly, ejecting his spent magazine and slamming a fresh one home. “That was just the scouting team. Cole wouldn't send three men to kill me. He sent an army.”
