Chapter 5 - The Trap Snaps Shut
“You expect me to believe you kissed her to save me?” Vivian laughed bitterly, shaking her head. “You’ve spent eight years treating me like a bird in a cage, Dominic! You hide bodies, you hide money, and you hide your own soul, and then you expect me to kneel down and thank you for throwing crumbs of affection my way while you entertain Brooke Callahan in public!”
“I did what I had to do to keep you alive!” Dominic yelled back, stepping toward her with his arms outstretched. “You think this city plays by nursery rules? If Callahan takes down Mercer Holdings, they won’t just take the money. They’ll put you and that baby in the ground to erase any living witness to Thomas Cole’s work!”
“Then let them try,” Vivian whispered, pulling the encrypted flash drive from her pocket and holding it up between them.
Dominic’s eyes widened in genuine horror. His skin went sheet-white. “Where did you get that?”
“My father gave it to me before he died,” Vivian said, her thumb tracing the cold metal casing. “He told me that if a Mercer ever tried to cage me, I should use this key to burn their kingdom to ash. He didn't trust your father, Dominic. And he warned me never to trust you.”
Before Dominic could speak, the French doors leading to the terrace shattered inward in a shower of crystal. Four masked men in tactical gear stormed the living room, their weapons raised.
“Dominic, look out!” Vivian screamed instinctively.
Dominic didn't hesitate. Without even drawing his weapon, he threw himself across the marble floor, wrapping his massive frame entirely around Vivian and driving them both behind the solid mahogany dining table just as a hail of suppressed gunfire shredded the leather sofa and splintered the walls above their heads.
He took the brunt of the impact, his heavy back absorbing the splinters and falling debris. Vivian felt his warm blood instantly seep through the fabric of his shirt onto her fingers.
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“Dominic!” she cried, clutching his trembling shoulders.
“Stay... stay down,” he gasped, gritting his teeth as he pulled his sidearm with his uninjured right arm. “Callahan... he didn't wait for morning. He wants the drive.”
