Chapter 6 - The Ambush in Palermo
“Down!” Dominic roared, tackling Sadie to the cobblestone ground just as a second gunshots echoed down the narrow alleyway.
Dominic pulled a sleek, concealed pistol from his jacket holster, his body covering Sadie completely as he fired three rapid shots back toward a dark alleyway where two figures in dark clothes were advancing.
Tires screeched down the main street. Bruno’s armored SUV pulled up to the edge of the alley, its rear passenger door swinging open.
“Dominic! Get in!” Bruno screamed over the gunfire.
Dominic grabbed Sadie by the waist, lifting her to her feet, shielding her with his body as they sprinted through a hail of bullets toward the idling SUV. They dove into the backseat, and Bruno slammed the door shut just as bullets rattled uselessly against the reinforced bulletproof glass.
The SUV accelerated wildly, tearing through the winding streets of Palermo toward the safety of the countryside.
Sadie was gasping for air, her heart pounding against her ribs like a trapped bird. She looked down at her hands—they were shaking violently.
Dominic grabbed her by the shoulders, his eyes wild with frantic concern. “Are you hurt? Sadie, look at me! Did they hit you?!”
“I... I’m okay,” she stammered, her voice shaking. “I’m not hit.”
Dominic let out a ragged breath, pulling her violently into his arms, crushing her against his chest. He buried his face in her hair, his body trembling with a protective fury he had never felt for anyone in his life. “Thank God... thank God.”
Sadie wrapped her arms around his back, leaning into his strength, smelling the dark cedar of his cologne mixed with gunpowder.
“Who was that?” Sadie whispered against his collarbone.
Dominic pulled back, his icy blue eyes turning into frozen daggers as he looked at Bruno in the front seat. “That wasn't union boys. Union guys use shotguns or knives. Those were military-grade suppressed pistols.”
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Bruno looked grim in the rearview mirror. “It was the Lucchese family, Dominic. They heard you were settling the dock strike. They don't want Virelli ships moving through Palermo. If the docks stay closed, their illegal smuggling routes stay open.”
Dominic clenched his fist, his jaw setting into iron. “They tried to kill the woman who saved my company. They just declared war on the entire Virelli empire.”
