Chapter 14 - The Edge of the Skyline
The deafening report of gunfire tore through the storm. Luca fired first, hitting the mercenary on Dominic’s left square in the chest before the man could shoulder his rifle. At the same instant, Dominic fired his gold-plated revolver. The heavy slug caught Luca in the left shoulder, spinning him around from the sheer kinetic impact.
"Luca!" I screamed, lunging forward as he dropped to one knee on the slick, rain-soaked gravel of the roof.
Blood welled instantly through the midnight fabric of his suit jacket, bright crimson washing away under the downpour. But Luca didn't stay down. With an ungodly roar of defiance, he pushed himself up with his right arm, firing two consecutive rounds into the chest of the second mercenary who was rushing him with a combat knife.
The third shooter raised his assault rifle, aiming directly at Luca's exposed back.
Time seemed to slow down. My hands, which had spent years stitching broken skin and wiping away fever sweats, moved without conscious thought. I lifted the small steel revolver Luca had pressed into my hand, aligned the iron sights with the gunman's center mass, and squeezed the trigger twice.
The recoil bucked violently through my wrists. The heavy bullets struck the mercenary in the throat and chest. He gasped, dropping his weapon, and tumbled backward over the low perimeter ledge, disappearing into the dark void of the alley sixty stories below.
My breath caught in my throat. I had taken a life. My hands trembled so violently that the small gun slipped from my fingers, clattering against the wet gravel.
Dominic stood alone now, his gold revolver empty, the slide locked back. Panic finally shattered his arrogant smirk as he backed away toward the edge of the rooftop, staring at the bodies of his fallen men. "You... you're both insane! You think the council will let you survive this?"
Luca walked toward him with slow, deliberate steps, each movement dripping with lethal intent. Blood poured from his shoulder wound, running in steady rivulets down his forearm, but his hand holding the gun remained utterly motionless. He closed the distance until the barrel of his weapon rested directly against Dominic's forehead, pressing the cold steel between his eyes.
"The council answers to the strongest man standing in New York," Luca said, his voice dropping into that terrifying, icy calm that chilled me to the marrow. "And as long as I breathe, you don't even own the dirt under your shoes."
Dominic’s knees gave out. He dropped onto the wet roof, clutching Luca’s trousers in desperate, humiliating terror. "Wait! Don't shoot! I can give you the offshore accounts! I can give you Chicago’s entire fleet! Salvatore planned the hit, not me! He promised me the territory!"
Luca glanced back at me through the pouring rain. His eyes searched mine, looking for disgust, horror, or fear. But all I felt was the fierce, burning need to keep this man alive, no matter what dark sins we had to carve our way through.
"Elena," Luca said softly, his voice cutting through the wind. "Does this man live or die?"
I walked over, my silk gown soaked through and heavy, stopping right beside Luca. I looked down at Dominic, whose eyes were wide with pathetic terror.
"He lives," I said coldly. "He lives long enough to sign every document transferring Chicago's assets into federal custody under our whistleblower program. Let him spend the next forty years in a federal supermax facility next to his uncle. Let him rot in an eight-by-ten cage knowing that a former maid took everything he owned."
Luca’s lips curved into a dark, proud smile. He reversed his grip on the heavy pistol and brought the steel butt down hard against Dominic's temple, knocking him unconscious onto the wet roof.
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A second later, the rooftop door flew open, and Marcus burst through with a squad of heavily armed Rossi tactical operators. "Perimeter secure, Boss! Chicago’s remaining ground crews surrendered at the street level!"
Luca swayed on his feet, his face drained of color as the adrenaline faded. He dropped his weapon and turned toward me, his heavy frame falling against my chest. I wrapped my arms around his waist, holding him up against the howling storm, our hearts beating in desperate unison beneath the weeping Manhattan sky.
