Chapter 8 - The Docks of Fire
Rain hammered down on the industrial shipping docks of Brooklyn.
Inside Warehouse 14, gunshots echoed like thunder. Dominic Vale was crouched behind a crate of steel shipping containers, blood dripping down his arm from a bullet wound. His two remaining bodyguards were pinned down beside him.
Across the dark warehouse, Viktor Moretti stood on a elevated catwalk, surrounded by twenty heavily armed men.
"Give it up, Dominic!" Viktor shouted over the gunfire. "Your mother sold you out! Your capos flipped! You have nowhere to run!"
Dominic checked his magazine. Two rounds left.
"You should have killed me at the wedding, Viktor," Dominic muttered under his breath, reloading his pistol with one hand. "Because if I die tonight, my wife will hunt you down."
"Your wife is a waitress!" Viktor laughed. "She’s probably cowering under a bed right now!"
Suddenly, the massive metal garage doors of Warehouse 14 were breached by a heavy armored SUV smashing straight through them at high speed.
CRASH!
Glass and metal exploded everywhere. The SUV spun around, blocking Viktor’s men from Dominic’s position.
The doors flew open. Marco and ten elite Vale tactical guards leaped out, opening fire with heavy automatic rifles, completely overwhelming Viktor’s mercenaries.
Through the smoke, a figure stepped out of the passenger side of the armored car.
It was Hannah. She wore a dark tactical raincoat, her hair tied back, holding a heavy shotgun in her hands.
Dominic stared in absolute shock. "Hannah?! What the hell are you doing here?!"
"Saving your life!" Hannah shouted back, firing a shell directly into a Moretti mercenary who was aiming at Dominic’s crate.
The blast knocked the mercenary off the catwalk.
Hannah ran through the gunfire, sliding down beside Dominic behind the steel crate.
"Are you insane?!" Dominic yelled, grabbing her by her shoulders, checking her for injuries. "I told you to stay at the estate!"
"Your mother tried to poison me, three of your capos betrayed you, and you were about to get executed!" Hannah yelled back over the deafening noise of gunfire. "I am your wife! We fight together!"
Dominic looked at her—this woman who had gone from a tired, broke waitress to a fearless Matriarch who just drove into a warzone to save him.
A fierce, dangerous smile broke across Dominic’s bloodied face. "I love you," he roared over the gunfire.
Hannah blinked, stunned. "What?"
"I said I love you, Hannah!" Dominic repeated, grabbing her face and kissing her deeply amidst the sound of explosions and flying bullets.
He pulled back, his eyes burning with absolute devotion. "Now, let's finish this."
Dominic stood up, holding his weapon alongside Hannah. Together with Marco’s squad, they pushed back Viktor’s remaining forces.
Viktor tried to flee up the catwalk stairwell toward a helicopter pad, but Dominic was faster. He chased Viktor up the stairs, throwing him over the railing onto the concrete floor below.
Viktor groaned in pain, spitting blood, staring up at Dominic and Hannah as they walked over to him, standing side by side.
"It’s over, Viktor," Dominic said coldly, raising his gun.
"Wait!" Viktor begged, crawling backward in terror. "Wait! I can give you money! Territory!"
"You threatened my daughters," Hannah said, her voice filled with absolute iron. "You threatened my husband. You have nothing we want."
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Dominic fired.
The battle for the Vale empire was finally over.
