Chapter 4 - the shadow on the balcony
The third-floor master suite was filled with the soft, warm glow of a bedside lamp. Elena sat on the edge of the large plush bed, her maid uniform replaced by a simple gray wool sweater and dark trousers that Dominic's staff had provided.
She looked around the massive room—the high coffered ceilings, the gold-framed oil paintings, the silk drapes snapping gently in the rain breeze against the balcony doors. For three weeks, she had scrubbed the marble floors of this very hallway, ignored by the wealthy men and women who walked past her. Now, she sat in the most secure room in the entire estate.
The heavy wooden door opened, and Dominic stepped inside. He had removed his tuxedo jacket, his white dress shirt unbuttoned at the neck, his sleeves rolled up to reveal his muscular, tattooed forearms.
"Are you comfortable?" Dominic asked, his deep voice surprisingly gentle as he stood near the foot of the bed.
"It's very large," Elena said quietly, offering a faint, weary smile. "I'm used to small spaces."
Dominic looked at her for a long moment, seeing the exhaustion in her eyes. "My brother loved your mother, Elena. When she disappeared thirty years ago, Julian nearly tore this city apart looking for her. He died believing she had abandoned him."
Elena’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. "She didn't abandon him. She was running for her life. Someone set fire to their cottage near the lake. She thought Julian was dead."
"Who set the fire?" Dominic asked, stepping closer.
"She never saw his face," Elena murmured, reaching into her collar to touch a thin silver chain resting around her neck. "She only saw a black sedan with a silver falcon emblem on the door."
Dominic froze. The silver falcon was the crest of the Valenti syndicate.
Before Dominic could speak, a sharp, metallic click sounded from the balcony outside the glass doors.
Dominic moved with terrifying speed. He grabbed Elena by her waist, sweeping her off the bed and shoving her behind the heavy mahogany wardrobe just as a volley of silenced automatic gunfire shattered the glass doors!
Shards of glass rained down onto the rug like hail.
Dominic drew his heavy silver revolver from his waistband, dropping low against the side of the bed as three masked men dressed in black tactical gear burst through the shattered balcony frame!
"Clear the room!" one of the gunmen shouted in a harsh whisper.
Dominic didn't give them the chance. He leaned out from behind the bed frame and fired three precise shots. The heavy rounds tore through the lead gunman's chest, sending him crashing backward over the balcony railing into the darkness below!
The remaining two attackers scrambled for cover behind the heavy leather armchair, spraying bullets blindly into the room.
"Elena! Stay down!" Dominic roared, his voice booming over the sound of gunfire.
Dominic rolled across the polished floorboards, using the heavy wooden bed frame as cover, closing the distance to the attackers with lethal, predatory speed. He reached the armchair in three massive strides, grabbed the second gunman by his tactical vest, and slammed him violently into the stone hearth!
The third attacker turned his weapon toward Dominic's head, but before his finger could pull the trigger, a heavy brass desk lamp struck him hard across the side of his face!
The gunman stumbled sideways, disoriented. Dominic closed the gap instantly, disarming the man with a crushing twist of his wrist and knocking him unconscious with a single, devastating right hook to the jaw.
Silence returned to the room, broken only by the sound of the rain pouring through the broken glass doors and the heavy breathing of the two survivors.
Elena stepped out from behind the wardrobe, her hands shaking, her eyes wide as she looked at Dominic standing in the middle of the ruined suite, his chest heaving, his revolver held low.
Dominic walked over to the unconscious gunman on the floor, knelt down, and ripped open the man's tactical jacket.
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Stamped into the leather lining was a stylized silver falcon.
Dominic stood up, his dark eyes burning with absolute, terrifying fury. "They didn't come for the money," he said softly, turning to look at Elena. "Vivienne invited the Valentis into my house."
