Chapter 10 - Headlights in the Rain
The low, distant rumble of a vehicle’s engine rolled across the asphalt outside, cutting through the silence of the night.
In an instant, all traces of vulnerability vanished from Leonardo’s face. His body went rigid as coiled steel. His dark eyes snapped toward the front windows, every muscle in his broad frame tensing into defensive readiness.
Vroom.
A pair of blinding, high-beam headlights suddenly swept across the diner’s rain-streaked plate glass windows, cutting brilliant swaths of harsh white light through the pink neon glow. The vehicle—a heavy, black unmarked SUV—cruised slowly past the front of the building before abruptly shifting into reverse and coming to a dead stop directly in front of the main entrance.
Leonardo didn't blink. He didn't reach for a weapon. But his right hand slammed down onto the laminate counter, his fingers curling white-knuckled around the ceramic handle of his coffee mug so hard the porcelain cracked under the pressure.
For the first time since Dora had met him, the man everyone in the underworld feared looked genuinely, deeply uneasy.
Through the rain-streaked glass, a tall, imposing shadow detached itself from the passenger side of the parked SUV. The figure stepped onto the concrete walkway outside, moving with deliberate, unhurried steps toward the front door.
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The amber security light above the entrance cast a long, distorted silhouette across the floor, but the person’s face remained completely obscured behind the water-streaked glass and the blinding glare of the vehicle's headlights.
Dora froze behind the counter, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. She looked from the looming shadow outside over to Leonardo, whose eyes were locked onto the front door, his breath shallow, waiting to see which piece of his shattered empire had finally come to finish the job.
