Chapter 2 - THE AMBUSH AT HARBOR 14The midnight rain over the Boston harbor was ruthless, hammering against the rusted metal containers of Pier 14.
Ronan Gallagher stood in the shadows, his long black coat soaked, flanked by twenty of his most ruthless enforcers. Brendan Walsh stood beside him, holding an assault rifle, his face grim.
"We tracked Vance’s burner phone signals to the old fish processing plant at the edge of the pier," Brendan whispered. "Boss... if Vance has had her for forty-eight hours, she might already be..."
"Don't say it," Ronan hissed, his eyes glowing with lethal intent. "If she has a single mark on her, Vance’s death will take a full week."
Ronan gave the signal.
Breaching the iron doors of the warehouse, Ronan’s men swarmed the floor. Muzzle flashes lit up the dark, cavernous space as gunfire erupted. Vance’s mercenaries were caught entirely off guard. The sound of shattered glass, shouting men, and heavy iron shell casings hitting the concrete floor reverberated through the night.
Ronan moved like a phantom through the chaos, firing his weapon with cold, calculated precision. He didn't care about the territory. He didn't care about the millions of dollars in smuggled goods stacked around him. He only searched for a small, fragile silhouette in a long-sleeved uniform.
"Gallagher!" a harsh, gravelly voice echoed from the metal catwalk above.
Ronan looked up.
Vane Vance stood high above the floor, holding a bleeding, bruised woman by her throat. Tessa’s dress was torn at the shoulder, revealing the hideous, jagged scar from the bullet wound she had sustained eight years ago. Her wrists were bound with thick zip-ties, her face pale and battered, but her eyes—those shy, quiet eyes that had refused to look at Ronan for four years—were locked directly onto his.
"You came for a maid?" Vance sneered, pressing the barrel of a chrome pistol against Tessa's temple. "The great Ronan Gallagher, risking his whole empire for Antonio Moretti’s broken little rodent?"
"Let her go, Vance," Ronan said, his voice terrifyingly calm as he raised his gun. "And I'll grant you a quick death."
"She’s been lying to you for four years!" Vance laughed hysterically. "She isn't an innocent little housekeep! She’s the last bloodline of the family that tried to take your throne!"
"She's mine," Ronan growled.
May you like
Tessa choked out a breath, her voice raspy and trembling. "Ronan... no... it’s a trap... the floor under you—"
Before she could finish, Vance pulled a remote trigger from his pocket and slammed his thumb down.
