Chapter 8 - The Docks at Midnight
The confrontation took place at the abandoned grain elevator near the dry docks where Dante had built his empire.
Moretti thought he had cornered a fourteen-year-old schoolgirl to use as leverage against the syndicate king.
Instead, he found himself surrounded by twenty of Dante’s elite protection detail before his men could even draw their weapons.
When Dante and Ava stepped out of the black SUV, Moretti stood in the center of the concrete yard, holding a trembling Mila by the arm with a knife pressed to her cheek.
“Drop your weapons, Salvatore!” Moretti screamed, spittle flying from his lips, his face purple with panic. “Or the girl gets a smile from ear to ear!”
Ava’s breath caught, her maternal instinct flaring into pure, unadulterated fury. She took a step forward, ignoring Dante’s warning hand.
“Let her go, you coward,” Ava’s voice cut through the harbor wind like a whip.
Moretti laughed hysterically. “Step back, little waitress, or—!”
He never finished the sentence.
Dante didn’t negotiate. He didn’t hesitate.
With blinding, terrifying speed, Dante raised his Sig Sauer. A single, deafening crack echoed across the dark water of the harbor.
The bullet struck Moretti’s knife hand with pinpoint precision, shattering bone and sending the blade clattering harmlessly against the concrete.
Before Moretti could even scream, three of Dante’s enforcers swarmed him like wolves on a deer, pinning him to the ground in seconds.
Mila broke free, running with a terrified cry straight into Ava’s open arms. Ava knelt in the dirt, wrapping her arms tightly around her little sister, burying her face in Mila’s dark hair as tears finally spilled over her lashes.
“You’re safe,” Ava sobbed softly. “I’ve got you. You’re safe.”
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Dante walked slowly over to where Moretti lay groaning in the dirt. He crouched down, resting his forearm on his knee, looking down at the fallen mobster with absolute, chilling detachment.
“You touched what belongs to me, Marco,” Dante whispered, his voice smooth as glass. “That was your first mistake. Your last will be trying to explain it to the fish at the bottom of the bay.”
