Chapter 4 - The Breach at Midnight
"They are already on the grounds," Viktor said, racking the slide of his automatic rifle as he stepped toward the balcony overlooking the rear courtyard. "Front gate sensors are dead. Rear alleyway motion sensors triggered simultaneously."
Dominic stood up, stripping off his blood-speckled gloves. The calculated coldness that had built his empire settled behind his eyes. He didn't know who had backed Dean into a corner, but invading his private sanctuary was an act of war that demanded total annihilation.
"Evans, take her into the reinforced panic suite behind the study," Dominic instructed calmly. "Keep her alive. Viktor, turn off the central power grid for the entire block. If they want to hunt in my house, they will do it in the dark."
The penthouse plunged into absolute blackness as Viktor tripped the main breaker. Outside, the distant hum of city traffic seemed to vanish, replaced by the eerie, breathless silence of a pending slaughter. The only illumination came from the pale moonlight filtering through the expansive floor-to-ceiling glass windows.
Dominic walked to the display case on the far wall, unlocked it with a thumbprint scanner powered by an independent battery, and pulled out an unbranded matte-black handgun. He screwed a sound suppressor onto the barrel with smooth, mechanical familiarity.
Footsteps echoed softly from the fire escape stairs—light, hurried, and tactical. Not street thugs. These men moved with military spacing and synchronized timing.
The glass wall of the terrace shattered inward with a deafening crash as three grapple hooks caught the frame. Two men in full tactical gear and night-vision optics swung into the living room, their rifles raised to shoulder height.
Dominic didn't flinch. He melted into the shadow of a grand marble pillar and raised his weapon.
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Thwip. Thwip.
The two lead invaders collapsed instantly onto the broken shards of glass. But before the third man could clear the balcony railing, a high-velocity flare hissed through the shattered window, illuminating the entire penthouse in a blinding, crimson chemical glare that exposed Dominic's position completely.
