Chapter 9 - The St. Jude’s Ambush and the New Beginning
The first gunshot shattered the glass vase on the nurses' station counter, sending a shower of crystal shards and water across the linoleum floor.
Chaos erupted in the pediatric ward. Alarms blared, monitors shrieked, and terrified nurses scrambled to usher young patients into secure back rooms.
Maya screamed as a bullet punched through the wall inches from her head.
Dominic moved with terrifying, instinctive speed. Ignoring the searing agony in his newly stitched shoulder, he lunged across the counter, grabbing Maya by the waist and shoving her behind the heavy mahogany nurse's station for cover.
"Leo! Front entrance!" Dominic roared, drawing his Browning Hi-Power with his left hand and firing two rapid shots down the hallway.
One of the assassins yelped, clutching his thigh before diving behind a vending machine for cover. The second gunman returned fire, spraying heavy rounds down the corridor, forcing Leo and me to flatten ourselves against the wall.
"Are you insane?!" I yelled over the deafening roar of gunfire in a children's hospital. "You're going to tear your shoulder completely apart!"
"Shut up, Nora, and keep my sister down!" Dominic shouted back, leaning around the corner to squeeze off another calculated round.
The second gunman tried to angle his weapon toward the nurse's station where Maya was huddled, trembling.
That was all the opening Leo needed. Moving with the silent deadliness of a shadow, Leo rounded the corner from the opposite corridor, closed the distance in two seconds flat, and brought the butt of his pistol down hard against the gunman’s skull. The man collapsed instantly, unconscious.
The first gunman, realizing he was outnumbered and outgunned, threw his hands up, dropped his weapon, and surrendered as Leo pressed the barrel of his gun against his temple.
"Clear," Leo called out, his voice unnaturally calm amid the wailing hospital alarms.
Dominic immediately holstered his weapon, rushed to the nurse's station, and pulled Maya into a tight, protective embrace. The young nurse was shaking uncontrollably, burying her face in her brother’s dark coat, finally realizing the surreal, violent underworld she had narrowly escaped.
"You're safe," Dominic murmured, resting his chin on top of her head. "I've got you. No one is ever going to touch you again."
I stood a few feet away, watching them, feeling a strange, heavy lump form in my throat. The mafia boss, the feared ruler of the syndicate, looked completely human for the first time—a brother holding his family together amidst the wreckage.
Security guards and local Boston police flooded the hallway three minutes later, panting and shouting, but when Leo flashed a heavy platinum badge bearing federal immunity credentials, the police officers suddenly found themselves staring very intently at the ceiling tiles and backing away slowly.
By evening, Maya was safely relocated to a secure safehouse under the protection of Leo’s Boston contacts, and Dominic and I were back on the private jet heading south toward New York.
The cabin was quiet, lit only by the soft glow of instrument panels.
Dominic sat across from me in the leather armchair, his injured shoulder resting in a proper medical sling, staring out the window at the dark clouds below.
"You know," I said, breaking the silence as I finished wrapping a fresh ice pack and handed it to him, "for a guy who claims to hate doctors and hospitals, you sure spend a lot of time causing mass shootings in them."
Dominic took the ice pack, a faint, genuine smile touching his lips. He looked over at me, the dark intensity in his eyes replaced by something much warmer, much more dangerous to my peace of mind.
"You saved my life twice, patched me up after a gunfight, and followed me across state lines into a hostile hospital," he said softly. "You realize you're officially an accomplice to half a dozen federal felonies now, right, Nurse Nora?"
"My rent is paid, my apartment building is secure, and my patient is technically still breathing," I replied, crossing my arms and leaning back in my seat. "I'd say I'm the best damn nurse in New York."
May you like
Dominic reached out with his left hand, capturing my fingers in his warm, firm grip. He didn't say anything else, but as the jet cut through the stormy night skies toward home, I knew one thing for certain:
I had walked into the Rossi estate fearing for my life, but walking out of it—and into whatever came next—was the one risk I was finally willing to take.
