Chapter 6 - The Trap Inside the Penthouse
Dominic did not reach for his gun.
That saved his life.
Four captains around the table were already aiming beneath it.
Anthony smiled.
“Good.”
Dominic looked at Leo.
“You burned her apartment.”
Leo shrugged.
“She was supposed to be inside.”
“And the baby?”
“Collateral.”
Dominic’s eyes changed.
Leo saw it.
For the first time, uncertainty entered his expression.
Anthony leaned forward.
“Don't become emotional, nephew. That weakness killed your father.”
“No.”
Dominic’s voice remained calm.
“Trusting you killed my father.”
The room went silent.
Anthony’s smile faded.
Dominic stood.
Every armed man tensed.
Then every phone on the table chimed simultaneously.
Vivian’s work.
Screens illuminated.
Bank accounts.
Transfer records.
Audio files.
Photographs.
Every captain received evidence showing Leo and Anthony had been stealing from them too.
Anthony looked at his phone.
“What is this?”
Dominic buttoned his jacket.
“The reason you should never declare war on an accountant.”
Chaos erupted.
Two captains immediately turned their weapons toward Leo.
Another demanded to know why his retirement account had been drained.
Anthony shouted for order.
Dominic walked out.
Nobody stopped him.
His SUV accelerated toward Kane’s clinic.
But Vivian was already gone.
The room had been overturned.
A guard lay unconscious.
Dominic found blood near the door.
Not much.
Still enough to make his vision narrow.
Kane staggered from the hallway.
“They took her.”
“Who?”
“Three men. Police uniforms.”
Dominic closed his eyes.
Leo had planned both possibilities.
If the meeting failed, Vivian became leverage.
His phone rang.
Leo.
Dominic answered.
“You have thirty minutes,” Leo said.
“Where?”
“Your penthouse.”
Dominic drove through Chicago at ninety miles per hour.
He entered his building alone.
The penthouse doors opened.
Vivian sat in a chair near the windows.
Her wrists were bound.
Leo stood behind her.
Anthony stood near the fireplace.
Six armed men surrounded them.
Dominic removed his pistol and placed it on the floor.
“Let her go.”
Leo smiled.
“That's new.”
Vivian looked at Dominic.
“Don't.”
A bruise marked her temple, but she was conscious.
Dominic’s gaze moved briefly to her stomach.
She understood.
The baby was okay.
“Give me the master encryption key,” Anthony said.
“No.”
Leo pressed his pistol against Vivian’s shoulder.
Dominic’s expression did not change.
Anthony sighed.
“You've become predictable.”
“Have I?”
Dominic looked toward Vivian.
She suddenly smiled.
Anthony frowned.
“What?”
Vivian said, “You should really stop underestimating accountants.”
Every light in the penthouse died.
Emergency shutters slammed down.
The elevators locked.
The security system began screaming.
Dominic moved.
He crossed the room in darkness.
Gunfire exploded.
Glass shattered.
Vivian dropped sideways with the chair.
Dominic reached her and covered her body.
His security team entered through a concealed service passage.
Within forty seconds, the shooting stopped.
Lights returned.
Leo was gone.
Anthony lay wounded beside the fireplace.
Dominic untied Vivian.
“You okay?”
“I think so.”
Then her face tightened.
“Dominic.”
He saw fear.
“What?”
“My water just broke.”
For perhaps the first time in his criminal career, Dominic Russo panicked.
“Now?”
Vivian stared at him incredulously.
“No, Dominic. I scheduled it for Thursday.”
Despite bullets embedded in his walls and Anthony groaning nearby, one of Dominic’s men laughed.
Dominic glared.
The laughter stopped.
He lifted Vivian.
“We’re going to Kane.”
“No.”
She gripped his lapel.
“Hospital. The baby’s early.”
Dominic carried her toward the elevator.
Behind him, Anthony laughed weakly.
“You think this ends with me?”
Dominic turned.
Anthony smiled through blood.
“Leo has Daniel.”
Vivian froze.
May you like
Anthony continued.
“And if Leo doesn't hear from me within an hour, your accountant loses her brother for the second time.”
