They dragged my maid into the middle of my mansion and called her a thief in front of my entire staff—but when a pendant slipped from beneath her collar, I realized the accusation was a setup. She wasn’t just a servant. She was the last living witness to the massacre that destroyed my family fifteen years ago.

The alley fell into a dead, suffocating silence, save for the hum of my car’s idling engine.

"Lorenzo... what do we do?" Elena whispered from the floorboards, her voice trembling as she covered Mia’s ears.

I didn't answer. My eyes moved methodically—calculating distances, sightlines, and cover options.

Julian was fifteen feet in front of my bumper. Eight gunmen were twenty feet behind my rear windshield.

"Brutus, quiet," I whispered softly. The giant Doberman lowered his head, his muscles coiled like tight steel springs, a low, silent rumble vibrating deep in his chest.

I pulled two custom-made high-caliber handguns from beneath my seat and laid them on my lap.

"Elena," I said calmly, looking at her in the rearview mirror. "Keep Mia’s eyes closed. No matter what you hear, do not look up until I tell you to."

"Lorenzo, please—"

"Trust me," I said cleanly.

I rolled down my driver’s side window two inches. "Julian! You let the woman and the child walk, and I’ll step out of the car!"

Julian laughed, a harsh, grating sound that echoed off the brick walls. "You don't negotiate when you're surrounded, Duca! You all die right here! On three, boys! Open fire—"

Before he could finish the word "three," I slammed my foot onto the gas pedal while shifting into reverse!

The silver sedan roared backward like a rocket, slamming full-force into the front bumper of the black sedan blocking us from behind! The violent impact shattered the black sedan's radiator and crushed two of the mercenaries standing right behind it!

At the exact moment of impact, I threw the driver's door open, raised my right-hand pistol, and fired three rapid shots through the open window!

The lead gunman on the left went down instantly with two rounds to the chest. The second gunman took a bullet through the throat before he could raise his rifle.

"Brutus, GO!" I roared.

The massive Doberman burst out of the open driver's door like a missile, leaping across the hood of the crushed sedan and locking his powerful jaws around the arm of the third gunman, dragging him to the pavement in a frenzy of terror and screaming!

Chaos erupted in the narrow alley.

I ducked as automatic gunfire tore through my windshield, showering the front cabin with safety glass. Rolling out of the driver's side onto the pavement, I used the car’s heavy frame as cover, firing beneath the chassis at the remaining mercenaries' legs.

Two more men crumpled to the ground, screaming as my heavy hollow-point rounds shattered their ankles.

"Duca!" Julian screamed in a fury, racking his shotgun and firing blindly toward my position. The heavy buckshot tore off my car's side mirror, sending plastic fragments flying.

I ducked low, reloading my empty magazine with a smooth, practiced motion that took less than two seconds.

Julian stepped around the front fender of my car, raising his shotgun directly toward my head—

BANG!

A sharp, high-powered rifle shot rang out from three blocks away.

Julian’s shotgun shattered in his hands, blown to pieces by a sniper round! He screamed, falling backward onto the wet asphalt, clutching his bloodied, ruined right hand.

Over the radio in my ear, Marco’s calm voice cut through the ringing in my ears. "Sorry we're late, boss. Federal marshal sniper team just established overwatch on your location. Alley is secure."

Four heavy marshal vehicles rounded the corner, sirens screaming, swarming the alley within seconds. Dozens of federal agents flooded the scene, securing the surviving wounded mercenaries and taking Julian into custody.

I stood up slowly, dusting the shattered glass from my suit jacket.