Chapter 1 - THE DEMON OF HOLLOWAY STREETThe single word the girl spoke wasn't a command of panic; it was a trigger.
“Now.”
Before Ray Delgado could pull his trigger, the scarred mutt launched itself forward. It wasn't the clumsy charge of a stray looking for scraps. It was a calculated, ferocious missile of muscle, tooth, and ancient instinct. It hit Ray’s second-in-command squarely in the chest, the impact sounding like a wet sack of concrete hitting the pavement. The gun flew from Ray’s hand, clattering against the slick brick wall.
Marcus watched through a red haze, his hands braced against the freezing concrete. He had seen elite hitmen work; he had watched trained killers clear rooms in seconds. But he had never seen anything move with the terrifying efficiency of this animal. In three fluid bounds, the dog leaped from man to man, its jaws snapping not to kill, but to disarm and shatter. A weapon discharged into the damp night sky, the thunderous crack echoing off the masonry, followed instantly by a sickening crunch of bone and a sharp howl of pain.
And the girl? The girl didn't flinch.
She walked past the chaos with the unbothered rhythm of someone taking a casual stroll through a park. The men, scrambling in panic as their formation shattered under the beast's relentless assault, tried to pivot their barrels toward the small figure, but the dog was relentless, tearing through their ranks like a localized hurricane.
Marcus spat out a mouthful of copper-tasting blood, his vision swimming. Who is she? What is this?
Ray, staggering backward from the initial strike, scrambled for his dropped pistol in the mud. His fingers brushed cold steel, but before his hand could close around the grip, a small, worn sneaker pinned the barrel to the ground.
Ray looked up, trembling, expecting a hardened assassin or a vengeful rival. Instead, he found himself staring into the remarkably calm eyes of a little girl whose oversized yellow raincoat dripped with dirty water.
"You're standing in the wrong alley," the girl said softly.
May you like
The dog materialized beside her instantly, its sides heaving, amber eyes locked onto Ray’s throat, dripping with a mixture of rainwater and the blood of Victor's elite enforcers. Five of Victor's men were already groaning on the ground, clutching broken wrists and shattered knees. The remaining four were backing away into the shadows of Halloway Street, dropping their weapons as they fled in sheer, unadulterated terror from a child and a dog.
Marcus slumped further against the brick, his consciousness fraying at the edges. As the darkness finally pulled him under, the last thing he saw was the little girl kneeling beside him, her small hand pressing firmly against his bleeding side with surprising, bruising strength.
