Chapter 6 - The Ambush at the Rail Yard
The rail yard at 22nd Street was shrouded in a dense midnight fog rising off the Chicago River.
Rusted freight cars formed a maze of rusted steel and wet gravel. Inside an abandoned locomotive maintenance barn, Sal Marcone paced beside a roaring barrel fire, surrounded by twenty heavily armed enforcers.
"Where is the girl?" Marcone barked into his satellite radio. "The deadline was twelve!"
"She's right here," a clear voice rang out from the shadows.
Marcone spun around, his men raising their submachine guns.
I stepped through the broken doorway into the light of the fire, holding the rusted metal box high above my head. I wore a dark trench coat, my chin held high, looking directly into Marcone’s scarred face.
"You wanted my father's ledger, Marcone?" I said, taking three slow, deliberate steps forward. "Come and take it."
Marcone sneered, pulling a chrome revolver from his waistband. "Smart girl. Drop the box and maybe I let your little brother keep his teeth."
"You won't touch my brother again," I replied.
"And who's going to stop me? You?"
"No," a voice boomed from the rafters above. "Me."
The glass skylights of the maintenance barn exploded in a blinding shower of flashbangs and tactical ropes.
Mateo and six Vance strike operatives descended from the ceiling, firing controlled, suppressed volleys that eliminated the flanking gunmen before they could even shoulder their weapons.
Dominic materialized from the darkness behind Marcone like a wrathful phantom. He caught Marcone's gun-arm, twisting the wrist with bone-snapping force. The revolver clattered into the gravel.
Dominic drove a brutal knee into Marcone’s ribs, slamming the enforcer face-down against the iron rail track, his heavy combat boot pinning Marcone’s neck to the steel.
"You brought violence to a woman under my name," Dominic growled, the barrel of his customized 9mm pressed against Marcone's temple. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't leave your carcass for the river rats."
Marcone choked, blood spilling from his lips. "Rossi... Rossi has the docks! He's bringing the shipment in tonight! If you kill me, he blows the whole south terminal!"
Dominic pulled the slide back. "Thank you for the operational update."
Crack.
The barn went silent.
Dominic turned toward me. His suit was coated in soot, his eyes blazing with adrenaline. He crossed the distance between us, tossing his weapon aside, and cupped my face in his large, callused hands.
"Are you hurt?" he demanded, his breath ragged.
May you like
"I’m fine," I whispered, resting my hands against his chest, feeling the wild, thundering beat of his heart. "You came."
"I will always come for you, Daisy," Dominic said, and before I could reply, he pulled me flush against him and kissed me—a fierce, possessive, breathtaking kiss that tasted of rain, fire, and absolute devotion.
