Chapter 8 - The Fire in the Pines
At 6:00 PM, as the sun dipped below the jagged Adirondack horizon, six black SUVs left the rear gates of Black Pine Springs, gliding silently through the snow-dusted pine woods.
The hunting lodge six miles north was a heavy timber structure set deep in a valley, surrounded by dense forest. Inside, Salvatore Moretti sat at a wooden table, drinking whiskey with his top captains, boasting about how he was going to force Dominic Carver to hand over the Saratoga shipping terminals.
"Carver is soft!" Moretti scoffed, slamming his glass down. "He spends his time hiding in his luxury hot springs like a king! He’s got a waitress living in his house now! The man has lost his edge!"
Suddenly, the lights in the lodge flickered and went completely out.
Silence fell over the room.
"What the hell?" Moretti barked, pulling a heavy silver revolver from his shoulder holster. "Go check the generator!"
Before his men could reach the door, the double oak entrance doors exploded inward under the force of a breaching charge.
Flashbang grenades detonated inside the room with blinding light and deafening thunder.
Through the smoke, Dominic’s strike team moved with terrifying, surgical efficiency. Silenced weapons coughed in the dark as Moretti’s guards were disarmed and neutralized within seconds. No wild gunfire, no chaotic yelling—only the precise, overwhelming execution of a professional force.
When the smoke cleared, Moretti was pinned to the wooden table, his wrist held down by Caleb, his revolver lying on the floor three feet away.
Dominic walked through the shattered entrance, his black wool coat unbuttoned, stepping over the groaning bodies of Moretti's men.
He pulled a heavy wooden chair out from the table and sat down directly across from the terrified mob boss.
"Salvatore," Dominic said pleasantly, as if greeting an old acquaintance at a dinner party.
Moretti spat blood onto the floor, his eyes wild with fury and fear. "Carver! You think you can do this?! The commission in New York City will destroy you for this!"
"The commission in New York City gave me permission to eliminate you two hours ago," Dominic replied smoothly, pulling a signed document from his coat and laying it on the table. "They were quite displeased to learn you were planning to kidnap a civilian to disrupt legitimate commerce in Upstate."
Moretti’s eyes widened as he recognized the official seal at the bottom of the paper. He went completely pale. "Dominic... please. It was just business! I was trying to get a seat at the table!"
Dominic leaned forward, his face inches from Moretti’s trembling nose.
"You sent men to grab a woman who sits under my protection," Dominic whispered, his tone so cold it froze the blood in Moretti’s veins. "You brought violence to my doorstep. You have five minutes to sign over all your shipping contracts in Buffalo to Caleb. After that, you will board a flight to Sicily, and you will never set foot on North American soil again."
"And if I refuse?" Moretti choked out.
May you like
Dominic didn't answer. He simply looked at his watch.
Moretti looked at the document, then at the icy, unyielding dark eyes of the man sitting across from him. With shaking hands, Moretti grabbed a pen and signed his name at the bottom of every page.
