Chapter 15 - The Ambush in the Dark
The descent through the service elevator felt like dropping into the belly of a furnace. Evelyn leaned heavily against me, trembling so hard her teeth chattered.
"He's a good man," Evelyn whispered suddenly, looking at me through tear-stained eyes. "Leandro. He acts like the devil, but he tore his own soul apart trying to protect Mateo. Don't let him die for my sins."
"He isn't going to die," I said firmly, though my own pulse was hammering like a war drum.
The elevator chimed, the heavy industrial doors sliding open to reveal the subterranean loading dock. It was vast, cavernous, and lined with towering recycling bins and catering crates.
At the far end, the red lights of Dominic’s blacked-out ambulance were idling.
"Dominic!" I called out, supporting Evelyn as we stepped onto the cold concrete.
The ambulance door opened, but it wasn't Dominic who stepped out.
Three men dressed in unmarked tactical gear emerged, assault rifles raised. From behind the concrete support pillars, four more stepped into view, sealing the exits. Behind them stood an older man in a tailored charcoal suit—Arthur Harkort’s former chief of security, a mercenary known only as Keller.
"Ms. Jenkins," Keller sneered, racking the slide of his tactical shotgun. "The Senator anticipated Leandro might try a diversion. He didn't think Moretti would send his two most valuable assets straight into our laps."
I shoved Evelyn behind me, my mind racing through every scenario. The loading dock was an echo chamber; any shot fired here would be masked by the HVAC units, but it would also mean certain death.
"Where is Dominic?" I demanded, stalling for every second.
"Taking a long nap in the dumpster," Keller replied coldly. "Now, step away from the girl, Clare. The Senator has use for Evelyn. For you, however... an accidental overdose in a D.C. alley seems much more fitting."
He raised the shotgun, pointing the barrel straight at my chest.
A sudden, deafening crash shattered the silence above us.
From the overhead ventilation catwalk thirty feet up, a massive figure dropped like a vengeful specter through the metal grating. Leandro hit the concrete floor in a combat roll, the momentum carrying him directly into the lead tactical operative.
Before the man could scream, Leandro drove a combat blade upward through the seam of his tactical vest, spun the dying man around as a human shield, and fired five deafening rounds from his Glock into the second and third mercenaries.
"Clare! Down!" Leandro roared.
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I tackled Evelyn to the concrete floor behind an iron dumpster just as Keller opened fire with the shotgun. Pellets ricocheted wildly off the metal bin with ear-splitting clangs.
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