Chapter 3 - The South End Retribution
The sound of the glass was followed instantly by two muffled, metallic pops from the street outside. The red-faced man didn't even have time to pull his hand from his coat before his shoulder exploded in a mist of dark red, the force of the high-caliber round throwing him sideways into the door frame.
The other two men lunged forward, but Noah Grant was already through the broken front window, his weapon drawn and firing before his boots hit the linoleum.
It was over in four seconds. One man lay on his side near the water cooler, groaning as he clutched a shattered knee; the second was pinned against the wall by Dominic’s trailing security detail, a heavy iron barrel pressed firmly under his chin.
Claire had dropped to the floor behind her desk, her arms wrapped around her head, her breath coming in short, jagged gasps.
Dominic didn't look at the blood on the floor. He walked over to the desk, knelt down beside her, and took her by the elbow, lifting her gently but firmly to her feet. "They weren't here for you," he said, his voice entirely devoid of excitement. "They were here for me. The Morettis think a transition of power means the gates are open."
Claire looked at the red-faced man, who was being dragged out the front door by Noah’s men, leaving a wide, dark smear on the floor wax. "They... they had guns," she whispered, her lips turning blue. "Sophie... Sophie is in the back room."
"She’s safe," Dominic said, his hand remaining on her arm until she stopped shaking. "Noah has three men on the alley exit. No one is getting near that room. But you and the child are leaving this building now."
"I can't leave," Claire said, trying to pull her arm away, though her fingers were still twitching with adrenaline. "The children... the parents will be here in two hours for the morning shift drop-off. If the center is closed—"
"The center is closed because the front door is missing, Miss Bennett," Dominic said, gesturing to the shattered glass and the broken oak frame. "And because it’s currently a crime scene. Noah, call the police chief. Tell him we had an attempted robbery at Harbor House. Tell him to send a clean crew to sweep the floor and board up the windows. No names in the log."
"Yes, sir," Noah said from the hallway, his face completely expressionless as he changed the magazine in his pistol.
"Where are you taking us?" Claire asked, her eyes darting toward the reading room door where Sophie’s small face was now visible through the small glass pane, her dark eyes wide with curiosity rather than fear.
"To a place where people don't break the doors down," Dominic said. He walked over to the reading room, threw the door open, and looked down at the five-year-old girl. Sophie was still holding her crooked paper bird.
"Mr. Quiet," she said, looking past him at the broken glass in the hall. "Did the wind break the window?"
"Yes," Dominic said, crouching down until he was at her eye level. "The wind was loud today. We’re going to go for a ride in a big car. Do you want to see the river?"
Sophie looked at Claire, who nodded weakly from the desk.
May you like
"Does the big car have cookies?" Sophie asked.
Dominic looked up at Claire, a tiny, almost imperceptible tilt appearing at the corner of his mouth. "Noah," he called out. "Make sure there are cookies in the Escalade."
