Chapter 10 - The Ambush at Benjamin Franklin High
Panic erupted in the hallways.
Claire’s teacher instincts instantly overtook her personal shock. “Jenna, get under the desk and lock the inner office!” Claire ordered, running out into the hallway to usher stray students into classrooms.
Outside the main entrance of the school, three black SUVs had blocked the driveway. Four heavily armed men in tactical gear, sent by Salvatore Vargas to abduct Dominic Russo’s prize, stormed through the glass doors.
“Find the Bennett woman!” the lead gunman barked in Spanish. “Grab her and kill anyone who interferes!”
Claire heard the heavy bootsteps approaching the English department corridor. She pushed two terrified tenth-graders into Room 204, locked the reinforced wooden door from the inside, and turned off the lights.
“Stay down, behind the teacher's desk! Cover your heads!” Claire whispered fiercely to her students, her heart hammering against her ribs.
Heavy footsteps stopped right outside Room 204. The doorknob rattled violently.
BANG! A gunshot blasted through the lock.
The door swung open, revealing a masked gunman holding an assault rifle. His cold eyes landed directly on Claire.
“Claire Bennett,” the gunman sneered. “You’re coming with us. Don Russo has something we want.”
Before Claire could scream, a blur of motion struck from the hallway like lightning.
A hand clamped around the gunman’s wrist, twisting the weapon upward with bone-cracking force. A sickening CRACK echoed through the room as the rifle was ripped away.
Dominic appeared like an avenging demon.
His eyes were completely black with primal fury. With terrifying, brutal efficiency, Dominic drove his elbow into the gunman’s jaw, sweeping his legs out and slamming him onto the linoleum floor into unconsciousness.
Outside in the hallway, gunshots echoed, followed by the sound of Ethan and Dominic’s elite security force systematically neutralizing the remaining intruders.
Dominic stood in the doorway of the classroom, breathing heavily. He was unarmed, but his hands were bruised, and the terrifying, lethal predator within him was on full display.
The students gasped in terror.
Claire stepped forward, trembling, looking at the man who had just dismantled an armed assailant with his bare hands.
Dominic’s eyes met Claire’s. In an instant, the demonic fury in his gaze vanished, replaced by sheer, desperate terror for her safety.
“Claire,” Dominic choked out, stepping toward her with open hands. “Are you hurt? Did they touch you?”
Claire looked at him—really looked at him—and saw the blood on his cuffs, the cold lethal skill in his stance, and the tablet article still burned into her memory.
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“Stay back,” Claire whispered, backing away until her spine hit the chalkboard. “Don't touch me.”
Dominic froze mid-step, his heart shattering into a thousand pieces.
