Chapter 4 - Blood in the Snow
Chaos erupted in the hallway outside the examination room. Shouts, heavy footfalls, and the distinct clatter of a tactical breach shattered the sterile calm of the clinic. Enzo didn't panic; his face hardened instantly into stone. He drew a heavy, silver-plated Beretta from beneath his wool coat with terrifying speed and motioned for Iris to stay down behind the heavy metal table.
"Dante," Enzo muttered under his breath. "He couldn't wait."
The door to the exam room burst open, and one of Enzo's guards stumbled backward through the threshold, clutching a bloody shoulder before collapsing onto the linoleum. Stepping over him came two masked gunmen clad in tactical gear, automatic rifles raised and sweeping the room.
Before they could acquire their targets, Orion—still recovering from his chemical burns, weak and entirely blind—lifted his massive head from the blanket. Though he could not see the intruders, his acute hearing tracked their every breath. With a guttural roar that shook the very foundations of the room, the ninety-pound cane corso launched himself off the table straight toward the doorway.
The element of surprise shattered the gunmen's aim. Orion slammed into the lead intruder with the force of a freight train, knocking the rifle from his hands and pinning him to the floor in a flurry of snapping jaws and muscle. The second gunman panicked, swinging his barrel toward the dog.
Iris didn't think. Instinct took over. She grabbed a heavy steel oxygen tank off its rolling rack and hurled it with all her strength at the second gunman's knees, catching him off-guard as he stumbled sideways.
That single second of hesitation was all Enzo Valenti needed. Two crisp, deafening shots echoed inside the confined space. The second gunman dropped instantly, neutralizing the threat.
Silence rushed back into the room, broken only by the heavy panting of the dog and the groans of the pinned intruder. Enzo stood over the fallen men, his gun smoking slightly in the dim light. He looked down at Orion, who was standing protectively over the disarmed gunman, his blind eyes staring blankly ahead while his tail gave a slow, measured thud against the floor.
"Well," Enzo said quietly, looking across the room toward Iris, who was trembling slightly against the exam table. "It appears our timeline for moving has just been accelerated."
May you like
Dante’s betrayal was now absolute. There was no going back, no negotiation, and no hiding in the quiet countryside anymore. The war for the Valenti empire had come to Iris’s doorstep, and she had just crossed the line from innocent bystander to a targeted player in a deadly game.
---
