Chapter 6 - Masquerade of Bullets
Julian looked even more lethal under the silver glow of the moon. His hair was streaked with ash, a jagged burn scar running from his ear down into his tactical turtleneck—a souvenir from the explosion I had left him in.
"Eight years, Evie," Julian said, his voice dripping with venomous affection. "Eight years searching every rat hole in Europe, and you were playing housemaid to a New York gangster."
Dominic stepped half an inch forward, subtly shielding my exposed torso with his shoulder. "Step away from the ledge, Kane. This room is wired with kinetic pressure sensors. My snipers have red dots on your spine right now."
Julian laughed—a dry, humorless bark. "Your snipers on the east terrace? Already neutralised. Your inner-ring security? Paid off three weeks ago. You see, Mercer, you think you run this city because you own the judges and the docks. But the Iron Syndicate owns the men who write the laws. Evie has something of ours. Give her to me, and you and your boy get to live."
I felt Dominic's muscles coil. He wasn't a man who negotiated. He was a warlord.
"She isn't going anywhere with you," Dominic said with absolute, chilling finality.
"Then let's see how many bullets she can catch tonight," Julian snarled, his finger tightening on the trigger.
I reacted instantly. "Dominic, down!"
I didn't lunge at Julian; I kicked the heavy steel instrument tray into the dangling ceiling chandelier wiring. Sparks showered the room in an explosive cascade of blinding light and crackling voltage.
Julian fired—the suppressed shot grazing Dominic’s shoulder as Dominic lunged, tackling Julian through the shattered window opening onto the wide stone balcony outside.
Rain poured from the midnight sky, drenching them as they traded brutal, bone-crushing blows. Dominic fought with raw, devastating street power; Julian counter-attacked with lethal military precision. Lightning split the clouds, illuminating the two titans locked in a duel to the death above the Hudson River.
I dragged my battered body across the floor, retrieved Dominic's dropped Staccato pistol, and limped out into the driving rain.
Julian drove an elbow into Dominic's ribs and broke free, spinning toward the balcony parapet. He saw me standing there, gun raised with both hands despite the agony in my collarbone.
"You won't shoot, Evie," Julian smiled, blood coating his teeth. "You still owe me for saving your life in Bogota."
"Debt paid," I whispered, and pulled the trigger.
The bullet caught Julian in the right shoulder, spinning him over the stone balustrade. He plummeted thirty feet into the churning Hudson River below, swallowed instantly by the black water.
Dominic rushed to me as the gun slipped from my trembling fingers. He caught me as I collapsed, wrapping his jacket around my shivering, blood-soaked body.
"Did we kill him?" Dominic asked, scanning the dark water below.
May you like
"No," I choked out, leaning my forehead against Dominic’s neck, feeling the frantic thunder of his pulse. "He survived Gibraltar. He'll survive the fall. And now... he knows Caleb is your weak point."
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