Chapter 3 - The Shadow Over BaltimoreThe glass door of Happy Tails clicked shut, locked from the inside by Marcus. The metal security shutters rolled down with a heavy, rattling groan, plunging the grooming shop into a dim, amber-lit twilight.
Emily stood behind her service counter, her wrists still stinging faintly from Dante’s grip. The billionaire sat on a low plastic stool usually reserved for children brushing small terriers. Brutus lay heavily across his feet now, completely calm, as if the tension in the room belonged to another universe entirely.
Dante placed a small, dark rectangular object on the counter between them. The micro-perforated card she had pulled from Brutus’s collar sat beside it.
“You’re playing a very dangerous game, Miss Parker,” Dante said, his fingers steepled beneath his chin. “That drive contains encrypted ledgers from Valente Global Shipping. Financial transfers, port logs, and names of individuals who disappeared from the harbor over the last three years.”
“I didn't even know it was there until a minute ago!” Emily fired back, her temper finally flaring through the terror. “Your dog ran into my shop half an hour ago bleeding from a graze on his flank and shaking like a leaf. He didn't come to frame you, Mr. Valente. He came because someone in your inner circle tried to kill him.”
Dante didn’t blink. “My inner circle is absolute.”
“Your inner circle just tried to shoot a dog in the middle of a public street!” Emily slammed her hand onto the counter. “They chased him right through my front door. If I hadn't stepped in, they would have put a bullet in his head right next to the drying station. Do you really think a dog is smart enough to steal your company’s darkest secrets and hide them in his own collar just for fun? He knew someone betrayed you, and he brought the proof to the only person in this neighborhood who actually feeds strays instead of kicking them!”
Silence stretched between them, heavy and suffocating.
Dante stared at her for a long, measuring moment. For the first time, the polished armor of the untouchable mafia boss cracked. A flicker of cold, absolute fury crossed his features—not at Emily, but inward.
“Marcus,” Dante said without turning around.
The head guard stepped out from the shadows near the back grooming tubs. “Boss?”
“Who scheduled the perimeter patrol in District Four this morning?”
“Vance and his unit, sir.”
Dante stood up slowly, his height dominating the small room. The air temperature seemed to drop ten degrees. “Vance has been with me for six years.”
“People change when someone dangles enough millions in front of them,” Emily muttered, crossing her arms.
Dante looked at her, a strange, calculating glint in his dark eyes. “You’re remarkably unafraid for someone whose business is currently locked down by a man the FBI has spent a decade trying to indict.”
“I’m terrified,” Emily said honestly, her voice dropping an octave. “My hands are shaking so badly I couldn't tie a ribbon on a poodle right now. But I care more about that dog bleeding on my floor than your criminal empire, Mr. Valente. So if you're going to threaten me, get it over with so I can call my insurance company.”
A slow, terrifyingly faint smile touched the corner of Dante’s mouth. It vanished as quickly as it appeared.
“You’re opening tomorrow morning at eight sharp, Miss Parker,” Dante said, walking toward the heavy glass door.
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“Excuse me?”
“Keep the dog,” Dante added, pausing with his hand on the latch. “And lock your back door. By morning, everyone in Baltimore who wants me dead is going to know that my most secure files are sitting inside a dog grooming shop.”
