Chapter 6 - The Infiltration
The peace inside the estate was shattered on Tuesday afternoon.
Penny was sitting in the library reading a novel when Matthew entered, his jaw set tight, flanked by Liam and three senior lieutenants.
"We located Tommy Vane," Matthew announced.
Penny stood up, setting her book aside. "Where is he?"
"He's hosting a high-stakes illegal poker game at an abandoned shipyard dock house in South Boston tonight," Liam explained, pulling up a schematic map on a tablet. "O'Leary will be there too. They're pooling cash to pay off the hitmen they hired to track Penny."
Matthew walked over to the desk, staring at the map. "We breach the docks at midnight. We end this."
"Wait," Penny spoke up, stepping into the center of the room.
All eyes turned to her.
"The map shows a private VIP lounge on the second floor of that dock house," Penny pointed out, walking over to the tablet. "If you bring ten armed men crashing through the front gates, O'Leary will escape through the water exit before you even reach the stairs."
Matthew frowned. "We have boats watching the river."
"It doesn't matter," Penny said, her mind working fast. "I worked events at dock houses for two years before the Lantern Room. They have subterranean service hatches for catering deliveries. If someone walks in through the service door carrying a liquor delivery, security won't look twice."
Liam scoffed. "You want to walk into a mob poker game carrying a tray?"
"No," Penny said, her eyes locking with Matthew’s. "I want to walk in as a waitress delivering high-end Scotch to Tommy Vane. He knows my face, but he thinks I'm terrified of him. While he's busy gloating, I unlock the rear security hatch from the inside and let Matthew's team straight into the VIP room."
"Absolutely not," Matthew growled instantly, his voice terrifyingly final. "I am not putting you in the line of fire."
"Matthew," Penny said, stepping close enough to touch his arm. "They put a bounty on my head. I'm not going to spend the rest of my life hiding in your fortress waiting for some lowlife to shoot me at a grocery store. Let me help you end this tonight."
May you like
Matthew stared down at her, his pulse racing. He hated the idea with every fiber of his being. But looking into Penny’s determined hazel eyes, he realized something that scared him far more than gunfights:
She wasn't just a woman he was protecting. She was his equal.
