Chapter 3 - The Bootlegger’s Tunnel
The orchestra stage was draped in heavy velvet curtains. Natalie led Gabriel, Daniel, and Bianca through the frantic crowd. Guests were screaming, diving beneath tables as the tension between Gabriel’s remaining loyalists and the Russo men reached a boiling point.
“Nobody fires unless fired upon!” Gabriel barked to his men as they retreated toward the stage. “Hold the room. I’ll handle the perimeter.”
They slipped behind the velvet drapes. Natalie pressed her hand against the dark oak paneling at the back of the stage, feeling for the hidden latch. Her fingers caught the cold brass groove. She pushed hard, and a section of the wall swung inward with a groan of un-oiled hinges, revealing a pitch-black stairwell that smelled of damp earth and old masonry.
“Go, go, go,” Daniel urged, shoving Bianca inside before turning back to cover their retreat. He pulled the heavy panel shut behind them, plunging them into absolute darkness.
Natalie activated the flashlight on her tablet, the harsh white beam cutting through the gloom. The tunnel was narrow, built of rough-hewn stone and lined with thick, dusty pipes.
“This leads under the courtyard and comes out near the wine cellar, right next to the catering kitchens,” Natalie whispered, keeping her voice low. “From the kitchens, there’s a loading dock that connects to the access road. Your cars should be there.”
“My mother’s men will have secured the loading dock,” Gabriel said, his voice echoing slightly in the confined space. “She doesn’t leave exits unguarded. But it’s better than the ballroom.”
He turned to Bianca, who was shivering violently in the damp air. The train of her wedding dress was already dragging through the mud and dust of the tunnel floor. Gabriel reached out, grabbing her wrist. His grip was entirely devoid of the tenderness he had shown her an hour ago at the altar.
“Why my mother, Bianca?” Gabriel asked quietly. “Teresa has been in Italy for a year. I sent her there for her own protection. Why is she allied with your father?”
Bianca sobbed, shaking her head. “Gabriel, please—”
“Answer him,” Daniel warned, shining his own tactical light directly into her eyes.
“Because of your father!” Bianca cried out, shielding her face. “Teresa found out what you did, Gabriel. She found out the truth about Don Romano’s heart attack. She came to my father three months ago. She said you murdered your own blood to take the throne, and she wanted the Russos to help her tear you down.”
Natalie stopped walking. Her blood ran cold. She was trapped in a dark tunnel with a man who had assassinated his own father to seize control of a crime syndicate.
Gabriel’s expression remained stone cold. He didn’t deny it. He didn’t justify it. He merely let go of Bianca’s wrist.
“My father was going to take us to war with the Russians,” Gabriel said softly. “He was losing his mind. I did what was necessary to save this family. My mother chose grief over survival. Now, she’s dragging us into the very war I tried to prevent.”
“Two minutes, Gabriel,” Teresa’s voice suddenly hissed from Daniel’s hijacked earpiece. The sound was eerie, a phantom mother haunting her son in the dark. “If you aren’t in the courtyard by the time the clock runs out, I will have the Russos open fire on the guests. Innocent blood will be on your hands.”
Gabriel’s jaw tightened. He looked at Natalie. “How far to the kitchens?”
May you like
“Fifty yards,” Natalie said, her voice shaking slightly.
“Move,” Gabriel ordered. “Daniel, weapons hot. We aren’t sneaking out anymore. We’re fighting our way through.”
