Chapter 9
Lucian Knox sat propped against the base of the collapsed scent-blotter display, his hands trembling violently as he dialed the encrypted number on his cell phone. The bright, vivid light of the showroom offered no comfort as the line rang. Valeria wept softly in the corner, her elegant dress stained with her own tears and the dust of the atomizer boxes.
Dominic stood over them, a towering, handsome monument of masculine authority. He said nothing, simply watching the blood drip from Lucian’s nose onto his tailored charcoal suit.
"Luca?" Lucian croaked as the line connected, trying desperately to steady his crisp American accent. "It's Lucian. We have a problem."
"What problem?" Luca Valenti’s voice crackled through the phone's speaker, sharp and suspicious. "The hit is in two hours. You better not be getting cold feet, Knox."
"No, no cold feet," Lucian lied, his eyes darting up to Dominic’s cold, intimidating gaze. "But Dominic... he shifted the security rotation at Pier 42. He changed the electronic cipher for the harbor master's safe. The codes Valeria gave you are useless."
A heavy silence hung on the line. "Are you playing games with me, Lucian?"
"I swear to God, I have the new cipher," Lucian pleaded, sweat beading on his fair, rosy forehead. "I bribed the shift captain thirty minutes ago. But it’s a physical keycard now. I can't text it over the encrypted network. I need to hand it to you."
"Bring it to the docks," Luca demanded.
"I can't! Dominic's patrols are swarming the perimeter. They're doing random sweeps," Lucian lied flawlessly, motivated by the sheer terror of Dominic’s promise to flay his sister. "Meet me at the private hangar. Hangar 4 at Teterboro. Just you and me. I’ll hand you the card, and you can still make the hit by midnight."
Another agonizing pause stretched over the speaker. The silence in the bright atelier was deafening.
"Fifteen minutes, Lucian," Luca finally growled. "If you aren't there, or if this is a setup, I will personally carve your heart out."
The line clicked dead.
Lucian let the phone drop to the crimson carpet. He let out a long, shuddering breath, looking up at the Mafia Boss who held his life in his hands. "He's coming. Hangar 4."
Dominic did not smile. He did not show any signs of triumph. He merely adjusted his wristwatch, the platinum band gleaming under the skylights.
"Good," Dominic said, his voice a low, terrifying hum.
He turned his head slightly, addressing the broad-shouldered bodyguards stationed by the locked glass doors.
"Bind them," Dominic ordered, his measured words echoing in the vast, bright room. "Gag them. Put them... in the trunk of the car."
"Dominic, please!" Valeria screamed, scrambling on her knees, her fair face a mask of total despair. "We did what you asked! You promised we would live!"
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"I promised... nothing," Dominic murmured softly, walking toward the exit. He paused, turning his handsome face back to look at the woman who had thought him a fool. "You will live... just long enough... to watch me burn Luca Valenti... to ashes. After that... your usefulness... expires."
The bodyguards moved in, their zip-ties clicking loudly in the quiet room as Dominic walked out into the brilliant daylight.
