Chapter 8 - THE WOLF'S BITE
Total darkness descended.
Sable yelled, stumbling backward. The hostages screamed, scrambling across the floor.
I dropped low, sweeping my leg out. My foot caught Sable’s cane, and the old man crashed to the marble floor with a heavy thud. The medical cooler slid across the floor, stopping near the stage.
Gunfire erupted from the lobby as Dominic’s men breached the hotel.
“Kill the hostages!” Sable screamed in the dark, crawling away.
Before his guards could fire, the skylight above the ballroom shattered. Glass rained down like diamonds as Dominic dropped onto a banquet table, flanked by Luca and his team on zip lines. They wore night-vision goggles, moving like shadows.
It wasn’t a firefight; it was an execution. Dominic’s men neutralized Sable’s guards in precise, calculated strikes.
I crawled under the tables, ignoring the chaos, my eyes locked on the white cooler.
I grabbed the handle just as the backup emergency lights flickered on, casting the room in an eerie red glow.
“Sarah! Move!” Dominic yelled.
I turned and saw Sable rising, blood on his face, his gun aimed squarely at my back.
He didn’t hesitate. He pulled the trigger.
The crack of the gunshot echoed off the walls. I flinched, bracing for the impact, but it never came.
Dominic had thrown himself between us. The bullet tore through his shoulder, spinning him around. He hit the floor hard, groaning in pain.
“Dominic!” I screamed.
Sable laughed, raising his gun to finish the job. “You always were weak, Dominic. Caring about the help.”
I didn’t think. I reached into my pocket, pulling out the heavy onyx ring. I threw it as hard as I could. The heavy silver and stone caught Sable squarely in the eye.
He yelled, dropping his aim for a split second.
Dominic didn’t miss the window. Even from the ground, bleeding out, his aim was flawless. He fired twice.
Sable fell backward, his chest stained red, and didn’t move again.
The ballroom fell deathly silent, save for the weeping of the hostages. The police sirens outside grew louder as SWAT teams finally prepared to breach.
I rushed to Dominic’s side, pressing a napkin against his bleeding shoulder.
“I told you… no hospitals,” he coughed, trying to smile.
“Shut up,” I sobbed, clutching the cooler to my chest.
Luca grabbed Dominic by the vest, hauling him up. “We have sixty seconds before the cops come through those doors. We’re leaving.”
Dominic looked at me, his face pale. “Take the medicine, Sarah. Go to the front doors. You’re a hostage who escaped. You know nothing.”
“What about you?”
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“I’m a ghost,” he said. He reached out with a bloody hand and cupped my cheek. “Your sister would be proud of you.”
Before I could answer, Luca dragged him toward the kitchen service doors, vanishing into the shadows just as the front doors were kicked open by the police.
