Armed guards drew their weapons on a feral Cane Corso, completely unaware that a little girl in a pink dress was about to step into the killing zone.

The darkness between the bookshelves exploded.

Titan launched himself across the thirty-foot expanse of the library like a gray-black missile.

Leo barely had time to turn his gun before one hundred thirty pounds of muscle, bone, and fury slammed directly into his chest.

The impact sounded like a car hitting a brick wall.

Leo's pistol flew out of his hand, spinning across the floor, while he crashed backward onto the heavy mahogany reading table, shattering it in two.

Titan's jaws locked around the man's heavy leather jacket sleeve, dragging him off the table onto the floor. The dog didn't bark. He let out a low, terrifying roar that reverberated through the high ceilings of the library.

The second enforcer raised his gun, aiming at Titan's head. "I'll kill this damn brute!"

"NO YOU WON'T!"

Elena grabbed a heavy oak dining chair from beside the reading table and swung it with both hands, slamming it squarely into the second man's back.

The chair shattered into splinters. The man stumbled forward, dropping his weapon onto the rug.

Before he could recover, Titan dropped Leo's torn jacket sleeve, spun on his hind legs, and stood over the second man, his open jaws hovering two inches from the man's throat.

The man froze, his eyes wide with sheer, unadulterated terror. Sweat poured down his face as Titan's warm, ragged breath washed over his skin.

"Don't... move..." the man whimpered, his hands pinned flat against the carpet. "Don't move..."

Elena stood breathing heavily, her hands bruised from the force of the wooden chair, holding the small black flash drive tightly in her right hand.

Titan didn't bite. He simply stood over the fallen enforcer, a silent, monstrous warden waiting for his next command.

Footsteps thundered down the hallway outside.

The heavy library doors burst open.

Dante Russo strode into the room, flanked by four armed guards, their weapons drawn.

Dante took in the scene in two seconds: the shattered grandfather clock, the two enforcers pinned to the floor, the broken oak chair, and Elena standing in the center of the room with the giant dog protecting her.

Dante looked at Elena, his jaw dropping slightly.

"Tell me you got it," Dante said softly.