Chapter 6 - The Trap on Route 9
The black suburban moved smoothly along the winding, tree-lined stretch of Route 9, five miles from the Russo estate.
Inside the vehicle, the mood was light. Elena sat in the middle row of seats, helping Mia cut out paper flowers with blunt safety scissors. Lucia and Valentina were looking out the tinted windows, watching the autumn leaves swirl in the wind.
In the front passenger seat sat Gino, a young guard with a jagged scar across his chin who had been on the Russo payroll for eighteen months. He kept checking his side mirror, his hands gripping his lap lap tightly.
"Gino," Elena said, looking up from the paper flowers. "You missed the turn for the art supply store. The center is two miles back."
Gino didn't look back. "Roadwork on the main street, Miss Vasquez. Taking the scenic detour through the wooded lane."
Elena’s instincts—honed by years of living in rough neighborhoods before taking this job—instantly flared red. She looked out the window. The trees were dense, blocking out the sun. There were no other cars on this road.
She looked at the driver, Paulie, a veteran guard who looked calm, but his right hand was resting quietly on the grip of his holstered weapon.
"Paulie," Elena said, her voice quiet, careful. "Turn the car around."
"Miss Vasquez," Gino interrupted sharply, turning in his seat. "Just sit back and—"
Before Gino could finish his sentence, Paulie slammed his foot on the brakes.
The heavy SUV skidded across the damp pavement, coming to a violent stop sideways across the road. Ahead of them, two heavy gray pickup trucks pulled out from a concealed dirt driveway, blocking the lane entirely.
"Down!" Paulie yelled, drawing his weapon in a single motion. "Get the kids down!"
Elena didn't hesitate. She grabbed Lucia and Valentina, pulling them off their seats and pushing them down into the footwell beneath her legs. She wrapped her entire body over Mia, covering the three girls like a human shield.
"Miss Elena!" Mia shrieked, her voice full of raw terror.
"Stay down! Keep your eyes closed!" Elena shouted over the rising noise.
Up front, Gino drew a silenced pistol and pointed it directly at Paulie’s head. "Drop it, Paulie! Marcone pays triple!"
BANG.
Paulie didn't hesitate. A veteran of twenty years in the Russo family, he ducked left and fired twice through the center console. Gino let out a wet gasp, collapsing against the passenger door as blood splattered across the windshield.
Outside, heavy gunfire erupted. Bullets slammed against the bulletproof glass of the SUV like hail, cracking the outer layers of reinforced plastic with deafening thuds.
"They're shooting at us!" Valentina screamed, burying her face into Elena’s waist, her small hands clutching at Elena’s sweater with unimaginable strength.
"I’ve got you! I’ve got you!" Elena cried, tears streaming down her face as she pressed her body weight down over them, bracing against the terrifying concussions rocking the vehicle.
Paulie was firing through the reinforced door port, returning fire against five heavily armed men approaching from the trees. "Line’s compromised! I can't hold them off alone!"
Suddenly, from down the highway, the deep, roaring thunder of a modified V8 engine echoed through the trees.
A massive black armored SUV burst through the curve at ninety miles an hour, not slowing down, slamming directly into the side of the lead gray pickup truck with a violent crunch of metal and shattering glass. The pickup was hurled into the ditch like a toy.
The driver’s door of the armored SUV flew open before the vehicle even came to a complete stop.
Dominic Russo stepped out into the middle of the gunfire.
He wore no body armor. His coat was open. His face was a terrifying mask of absolute, god-like fury. In his hands was a heavy automatic shotgun.
BOOM.
The first attacker was lifted off his feet, thrown backwards into the brush.
BOOM.
Dominic advanced down the middle of the road, firing with brutal, terrifying precision, completely ignoring the bullets ricocheting off the pavement around his boots. Behind him, Marco and six Russo guards poured out of two following vehicles, sweeping through the tree line like a wave of black death.
In less than forty-five seconds, the gunfire stopped.
The quiet returned to the wooded lane, broken only by the crackle of burning engine oil and the heavy, ragged breathing of men.
Dominic tossed the empty shotgun onto the hood of a wrecked truck. He sprinted toward the damaged SUV, ripping the dented rear door open with his bare hands, tearing the metal hinges until the latch snapped.
"Elena!" Dominic roared, his voice desperate, trembling with an agony he couldn't contain. "Lucia! Valentina! Mia!"
Inside the footwell, the pile of blankets and paper flowers shifted.
Elena slowly pushed herself up, her face pale, her hair disheveled, her arms bruised from pressing against the seat frames. Beneath her, unharmed, three dark-haired little girls peered out.
Dominic reached into the car with his massive, trembling hands. He didn't wait for them to come to him. He reached down, lifted Mia and Valentina in one arm, caught Lucia with the other, and pulled all three of them tightly against his chest, collapsing onto his knees on the wet asphalt.
He buried his face into their dark, soft curls, his body shaking violently as he let out a choked, ragged sob he had held inside for fourteen months.
"I’m here," Dominic wept quietly into their hair, completely unconcerned that his men, Marco, and Elena were watching the most terrifying Don in the state cry on a dirt road. "Daddy’s here. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry."
Mia reached out her tiny, flour-dusted hand, wrapping her small fingers around her father’s collar. She pulled herself closer, burying her wet face into his neck.
May you like
"Daddy," Mia whispered softly into his skin. "Don't cry."
Dominic squeezed his eyes shut, pressing his lips against her small forehead, holding his daughters as if the world were ending, finally anchored back to the living.
