Chapter 3 - TEETH IN THE DARK
The explosion ripped the air from my lungs.
A high-pitched ringing pierced my eardrums.
My vision was swimming in green and violet spots.
The concussive shockwave vibrated through the floorboards.
Dominic didn't flinch.
He rolled off me, his gun already firing toward the terrace.
Two men in black tactical gear burst through the shattered frame.
They weren't carrying standard mob pistols.
They held steel catch poles.
Heavy, reinforced wire loops designed to strangle large animals.
And in their tactical belts: pressurized dart pistols.
Ketamine.
"Catch the beast!" the lead man barked.
He thrust the wire loop straight at Zeus’s head.
Zeus snapped.
The dog’s jaws clamped around the steel shaft of the catch pole.
The sound of teeth on metal shrieked through the room.
Zeus wrenched his head sideways with terrifying, hundred-pound torque.
The mercenary was yanked off his boots.
He crashed face-first onto the glass-strewn marble.
Dominic stepped forward and drove his boot into the man's ribs.
The mercenary went limp.
The second intruder raised his dart gun directly at my chest.
"Let go of the leash, bitch!"
I didn't think.
Six months of waiting tables had made me invisible.
Two years at the shelter had taught me how to read kinetic energy.
I grabbed the heavy silver champagne bucket from the nearest linen cart.
I swung it with both arms.
Twelve pounds of melted ice and solid brass collided with his temple.
The man stumbled backward into the curtains.
Zeus hit him before he could regain his footing.
A deep, bone-crushing growl echoed off the ceiling.
The man shrieked, dropping his weapon.
"Zeus, out!" I commanded.
My voice was sharp, low, and clear.
The dog froze instantly.
His teeth hovered half an inch from the man's throat.
He looked back at me, his yellow eyes wide with adrenaline.
"Good boy," I breathed, my hands shaking violently. "Back. To me."
Zeus stepped backward, chest heaving, saliva dripping from his jowls.
He pressed his flank hard against my trembling shins.
Dominic lowered his weapon.
He stared at me through the settling dust.
His expression was unreadable, but a slow, dangerous admiration burned in his dark eyes.
"You hit a syndicate enforcer with a champagne bucket," Dominic noted.
"He had bad manners," I gasped, wiping plaster dust from my forehead.
The heavy double doors of the dining room banged open.
Emergency halogen lanterns flooded the room with harsh amber light.
Ten Castellano soldiers in dark suits swarmed the space, shotguns raised.
At their head stood a tall man with silver-streaked hair and a scarred jaw.
Matteo.
Dominic's chief of security.
"The grounds are secured, boss," Matteo reported, breathing hard.
"Four hostiles neutralized. Three fled into the woods."
Matteo stopped when he saw Zeus standing calmly beside me.
His eyes widened.
"How is that dog not tearing her throat out?" Matteo muttered.
"Because she speaks his language," Dominic said.
Dominic walked over to the unconscious mercenary on the floor.
He reached down and ripped the tactical patch from the man's shoulder.
A coiled black viper clutching an iron skull.
Dominic’s jaw tightened until the bone twitched.
"Victor Moretti's kennel crew," Dominic whispered.
"They didn't come to assassinate you, did they?" I asked, looking at the catch poles.
"No," Dominic said.
He turned toward me.
The amber lantern light cut sharp shadows across his carved cheekbones.
"They came for the dog."
"Why would a mafia family risk a war over a rescue pit bull?"
Dominic didn't answer immediately.
He crouched beside Zeus.
He reached out his hand, moving slowly, letting Zeus sniff his knuckles.
Zeus tolerated the touch, leaning into my leg for reassurance.
Dominic’s fingers parted the short, blue-gray fur along Zeus’s lower ribcage.
Near the flank.
There, beneath a jagged patch of scar tissue, was a distinct, surgical line.
A hard, rectangular bulge rested beneath the skin.
The size of a heavy thumb drive.
"What is that?" I breathed.
"Three months ago, my younger brother Julian went undercover into Moretti's illegal fighting syndicate," Dominic said.
His voice was dead cold.
"Julian found the ledger that links Moretti to the city council's human trafficking ring."
"Julian was discovered."
"Before they executed him, he smuggled the drive out."
"How?" I whispered, my heart in my throat.
"He used the kennel's veterinary lab," Dominic said, looking into my eyes.
"He implanted the master key inside the strongest dog in the compound."
"Then he let Zeus loose into the night."
Suddenly, the radio on the fallen mercenary's belt hissed to life.
A mocking, gravelly voice echoed through the static:
"Enjoy the reunion, Dominic."
May you like
"Check your perimeter sensors on the south gate."
"Your little animal trainer's shelter isn't empty anymore."
