Chapter 4
The private lounge smelled like rain, whiskey, and fear.
Dante stood near the windows in a black suit, lightning flashing behind him. Luca, his financial man, stood at his right. Two dock captains sat stiffly near the table, their drinks untouched.
Nico was not there.
Mara kept her eyes low as she entered.
One dock captain glanced at her and muttered, “Kitchen ghost made it upstairs.”
No one laughed loudly.
Not in front of Dante.
But nobody defended her either.
Mara poured coffee and listened.
A river container had vanished between the warehouse and the eastern dock. One driver was missing. Another had been found unconscious in his truck. The route change had come from inside Dante’s system.
Luca blamed outsiders.
The dock men blamed panic.
Dante blamed no one yet.
That made him more dangerous than all of them.
Then the lights flickered.
Only once.
But once was enough.
Mara saw Luca turn toward the wrong door.
She saw one dock captain reach for a phone he should not have had.
She saw Dante’s fingers shift toward his jacket.
Then the service wall blew inward.
Smoke swallowed the room.
Glass shattered. Marble cracked. Someone shouted. Someone hit the floor. Black-suited men moved through the smoke with controlled weapons and colder eyes.
They were not there to threaten Dante.
They were there to erase him.
Dante went down behind the bar, stunned, his phone skidding across broken glass.
May you like
The lead attacker moved toward him.
Mara stopped limping.
