Chapter 16 - THE AMBUSH ON MICHIGAN AVENUE
The metallic heavy impacts of automatic gunfire echoed off the high-rise concrete like muffled thunder. Bulletproof glass webbed into spiderweb patterns above their heads, but the reinforced shell of Giovanni’s armored sedan held firm.
Beneath Giovanni’s heavy, protective frame, Jessica squeezed her eyes shut, holding her breath. The scent of dark cologne, leather, and gunpowder filled her senses. She didn't scream.
"Marco, reverse!" Giovanni commanded smoothly, his voice devoid of panic.
The driver slammed the sedan into reverse, tires screeching as he spun the heavy vehicle in a violent, high-speed J-turn, leaving the smoking wreck of the escort SUV behind. Within seconds, two secondary security chase vehicles surged forward, cutting off the shooters and surrounding the sedan as it sped away into the night toward the estate's subterranean bunker entrance.
When the sedan came to a halt inside the secure underground garage, Giovanni immediately shifted off Jessica, his dark eyes scanning her frantically.
"Are you hit?" he demanded, his large hands gently cupping her face, checking her arms, her shoulders, her torso. "Jessica, look at me. Are you bleeding?"
"I'm fine," Jessica breathed, her heart hammering against her ribs, but her eyes were steady. She reached up, touching the silver scar on his chin. "Are you?"
Giovanni stared at her. Most people in his world would be hysterical after a high-caliber ambush. But Jessica was looking at him with fierce, protective concern.
Marco opened the door, his face pale. "Boss. Tactical team neutralised two of the shooters. The third escaped in an unmarked van."
"Who paid them?" Giovanni asked, his tone dropping into an icy register that made the concrete floor feel freezing.
Marco held up a encrypted disposable phone recovered from one of the dead shooters. "The money trail routes through an offshore account registered to Vance Capital... but the authorization code came from an internal Fierro family IP address."
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Jessica’s eyes widened. "Tyler... and Enzo."
"A desperate ex-husband seeking cash, and an uncle seeking a throne," Giovanni said quietly, his eyes burning with absolute, lethal intent. "They made a mistake."
