Chapter 14 - The Ambush at Midnight
Before Dante could signal his enforcers standing near the lounge entrance, the overhead lights of the Azure Lounge flickered once and died, plunging the upscale club into total darkness.
Screams erupted from the terrified patrons as glass shattered and heavy boots stormed the floor.
Dante lunged across the table to grab Genevieve’s arm, but she was already moving, sliding off the banquette and rolling behind the heavy mahogany partition.
Bang! Bang!
Muzzle flashes strobed through the smoky darkness.
Through the shattered front windows of the lounge, the heavy armored doors of Mateo’s Maybach blasted inward. Mateo didn't wait for backup. He stepped through the wreckage with a tactical rifle raised, his eyes locked entirely on Dante Rossi’s position near the back booths.
“Rossi!” Mateo’s voice boomed over the chaos, cold enough to freeze blood.
Dante scrambled behind the bar, pulling a concealed pistol and dragging a terrified bartender in front of him as a human shield. “Stay back, Viscanti! One step and the girl’s throat gets opened!”
Genevieve, crouched behind the partition, realized Dante wasn't looking at her. He thought she was still trapped by his original position.
Without hesitation, she reached down, grabbed a heavy champagne bottle from an abandoned ice bucket, and swung it with all her strength against the back of Dante’s knee.
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Dante shrieked, his leg buckling beneath him as he dropped his human shield.
In that fraction of a second, Mateo closed the distance across the room, the butt of his rifle crashing down against Dante’s temple with bone-cracking force. Dante collapsed instantly onto the broken glass, unconscious and bleeding.
