Chapter 7 - The Shadows Walk
The basement corridors of Bellaro House were colder than the upper floors, built of rough-cut granite blocks that had survived from the original 19th-century foundation.
Dominic led the way, his boots making no sound against the damp concrete floor.
His hearing was returning in strange, erratic waves. The damp acoustic environment of the stone cellar was easier on his ears than the open air—the heavy walls absorbed the high frequencies, leaving only the low, muffled thud of footsteps from the floor above.
He heard them.
Thud... thud... thud...
Two sets of heavy boots moving across the parquet floor of the primary dining room directly over his head.
Marchetti’s security men.
Dominic signaled for Gio and Nora to pause behind a brick archway near the wine storage racks.
He crept forward to the base of the oak service stairs that led into the butler's pantry.
Through the narrow crack in the pantry door above, a beam of yellow light cut through the darkness.
Two men were speaking in the kitchen.
"...supposed to be out cold until seven," a voice said—a thick, raspy voice belonging to one of Marchetti’s waterfront enforcers named Jimmy Vance. "Paul wants the documents signed before the Chicago guys land at six AM."
"What about the girl?" another voice asked.
"Sabrina’s handling her," Jimmy laughed—a wet, disgusting sound that vibrated inside Dominic’s skull like breaking glass. "She told the old man the girl ran off into the woods when the guards chased her. Once we clear the safe, we drop the doctor back at his clinic and make it look like an accidental overdose."
Dominic stood at the bottom of the stairs, his grip tightening around the checkering of the Sig Sauer's grip.
He didn't feel anger. He felt an absolute, terrifying clarity.
He moved up the wooden stairs like a ghost.
The pantry door opened without a sound.
Jimmy Vance was standing near the center island, holding a silver thermos of coffee, his back turned to the door. His partner, a smaller man named Vinnie, was leaning against the stainless-steel refrigerator, checking his phone.
Dominic stepped out of the pantry.
He didn't call out. He didn't demand their surrender.
He raised the suppressed Sig Sauer and fired twice into the wall controller of the main electrical breaker box mounted beside the refrigerator.
SPARK-THUD!
The entire estate was instantly plunged into pitch-black darkness as the primary circuit tripped.
Vinnie dropped his phone with a loud curse. "What the—"
Dominic closed the distance in two strides.
He swung the heavy steel slide of the Sig Sauer sideways, striking Vinnie across the side of the jaw with precise, devastating force. The man went down like a tree, his skull bouncing off the tile floor with a dull CRACK.
Jimmy Vance spun around, reaching for his hip holster, but Dominic was already there.
Dominic grabbed Jimmy’s right wrist, twisting the joint outward until the bone popped from its socket with a sharp, sickening sound. Jimmy opened his mouth to scream, but Dominic’s left hand shot forward, his thumb pressing hard against the carotid sinus artery at the side of Jimmy’s neck.
Within four seconds, Jimmy’s eyes rolled back into his head, his knees buckled, and he collapsed into a heap on the dark floor.
Dominic stood over them in the absolute darkness of the kitchen, his heart beating a steady, rhythmic fifty-five beats per minute.
Behind him, Nora and Gio stepped through the pantry door, their flashlights fitted with red filters to preserve their night vision.
Dominic looked at Gio, pointing two fingers toward the front foyer.
Clear the rest of the lower floor, he signed in the dark.
Gio nodded, drawing his own suppressed weapon, and slipped away into the dark corridor like a phantom.
Dominic looked at Nora.
"Stay here," he whispered.
May you like
"I'm right behind you," she whispered back.
Dominic didn't waste time arguing. He turned and began his climb up the grand staircase toward his private study.
