Chapter 7 - The Midnight Ambush
The illusion of safety shattered on a rainy Thursday night when the safehouse came under direct assault. Muffled explosions echoed from the ground floor as rival mob enforcers breached the perimeter, utilizing specialized thermal charges to bypass the heavy security doors. Alarms wailed through the corridors, flashing blinding red emergency lights. Sadie scrambled out of bed as gunfire erupted outside her bedroom door. The handle twisted violently, and before she could scream, Dominic burst into the room, his jacket off, a tactical pistol gripped tightly in his hand. “Stay behind me!” he commanded, his voice sharp and absolute. He pulled her into the adjoining walk-in closet, shielding her body with his own as bullets pierced the drywall and shattered the mirrors outside. For the next ten minutes, the suite turned into a war zone. Dominic fought with cold, surgical precision, neutralizing two intruders who managed to breach the hallway before Marcus and the reinforcement team finally arrived, driving the remaining attackers back into the rainy Philadelphia streets. When the smoke cleared, Dominic checked her frantically for injuries, his usual stoic armor completely shattered by genuine panic.
