Chapter 5 - The Devil's Bargain
Bullets tore through the wooden walls of the cabin like angry hornets.
Dominic crawled across the floor, grabbing a heavy assault rifle from the hidden weapons cache.
He knew Nathan’s men would surround the perimeter before moving in for the kill.
He had to get Mia and Harper out before the cabin was completely overrun.
He kicked open a hidden trapdoor under a rug that led to an underground drainage pipe.
He quickly lowered Mia into the dark tunnel, then handed down a terrified Harper.
Dominic fired a deafening burst of cover fire out the window before dropping into the tunnel himself.
They waded through freezing, knee-deep water for twenty agonizing minutes.
They finally emerged in a dense pine forest, miles away from the burning cabin.
Mia was shivering violently, her skin burning with a sudden, dangerous fever.
Dominic knew she would die from infection if she did not get professional medical help immediately.
He carried her to a rural highway and flagged down an old pickup truck driven by a terrified farmer.
Dominic flashed a massive stack of hundred-dollar bills and ordered the man to drive them to the city.
An hour later, they arrived at a clandestine underground clinic run by a disgraced mob doctor named Silas.
Silas owed Dominic his life from a gang war ten years ago.
The doctor rushed Mia into a sterile operating room while Dominic waited outside with Harper.
Harper fell asleep on Dominic’s lap, trusting the terrifying mafia boss completely.
An hour passed in agonizing silence.
Finally, Silas walked out of the operating room wiping blood from his gloves.
“She will survive, Dominic,” Silas said with a reassuring smile.
Dominic let out a heavy sigh of relief and stood up to thank the man.
Suddenly, the room began to spin violently around him.
His vision blurred, and his legs completely gave out beneath him.
He looked down and saw a tiny dart sticking out of his neck.
May you like
Silas stood over him with a dark, apologetic frown.
“I am sorry, Dominic, but Nathan simply pays a much higher premium these days.”
