Pick Any Woman You Want, The Mafia Boss Said — But His Dog Led The Girl To A Poor Waitress Instead

Peace, in the underworld, is always an illusion bought with borrowed time.

Three days after their first kiss, the inevitable storm broke.

Kendrick had received urgent word that Barrett’s arms shipment had been intercepted at the docks in New Jersey. Taking eighty percent of his elite strike force, Kendrick departed in a heavily armed convoy to crush Barrett’s supply line once and for all.

"Stay inside the safe room if the alarms sound," Kendrick had told Willa before leaving, cupping her face and kissing her with a desperate intensity that felt like a goodbye. "Marcus will guard the main house. I will be back before midnight."

But Barrett Hayes had not gone to New Jersey. The shipment was a decoy—a masterclass in deception designed to draw Kendrick Ashford away from his fortress.

At ten o’clock that night, thunder shook the Hudson Valley. Moments later, the power cut completely, plunging the estate into pitch darkness.

The backup generators hummed for three seconds before a deafening explosion ripped through the western utility wing. The wail of the security alarms screamed through the house.

Gunfire erupted outside.

In the nursery, Penny awoke, screaming in terror. Willa bolted into the room, sweeping the trembling child into her arms. "I'm here, baby, I'm here! Shh, I've got you!"

Titan was already on his feet, his hackles raised like wire, a terrifying, guttural roar rumbling in his massive chest. The dog stood between Willa and the bedroom door, his teeth bared in the darkness.

Marcus burst into the room, his assault rifle raised, blood dripping from a gash on his forehead. "Miss Willa! We're under siege! Barrett’s men breached the eastern gate using RPGs! They cut our communications! We need to move to the underground bunker now!"

"Is Kendrick—?"

"He's thirty miles away, fighting through jammed highways! We're on our own!"

Willa didn't hesitate. She grabbed a heavy woolen blanket, wrapped Penny tightly, and followed Marcus down the darkened service corridor. Titan ran beside them, his heavy body acting as a physical shield between Willa and the outer walls.

As they reached the central gallery, the stained-glass dome above them shattered in a rain of deadly shards.

Three men in tactical gear rappelled down from the roof, their submachine guns barking. Marcus returned fire instantly, dropping two of them, but a third spray of bullets caught the old bodyguard in the shoulder and leg. He collapsed to the marble floor, groaning in agony.

From the shattered double doors of the courtyard, Barrett Hayes stepped into the grand hall. He held a nickel-plated automatic pistol, his face twisted in a manic, triumphant grin.

"Look at this," Barrett mocked, kicking Marcus's dropped weapon away. "The king is away, and the little serving girl is playing mother."

"Barrett, please," Willa pleaded, stepping back, shielding Penny behind her body against the wall. "She's just a child. Take me, leave Penny."

"Oh, you're both coming with me," Barrett sneered, raising his pistol toward Willa. "Kendrick will surrender his entire syndicate, every dock, every warehouse, to get his little doll and his brat back. And when he signs the papers, I will shoot all three of you in the back of the head."

Penny sobbed against Willa’s neck. "Daddy! Titan!"

Barrett took two steps forward, reaching out a gloved hand to seize Willa’s hair. "Come here, you little—"

A roar that shook the very foundations of the chateau tore through the hall.

Titan leaped.

One hundred and fifty pounds of fury, bone, and ancient mastiff muscle launched through the air like a cannonball. The beast struck Barrett full in the chest, knocking him flat onto the marble floor. Barrett screamed in agony as Titan’s massive jaws clamped down onto his gun arm, bone audibly snapping beneath the pressure.

"Shoot the dog! Shoot the damn beast!" Barrett shrieked to his remaining men outside.

Gunfire erupted from the terrace. A bullet grazed Titan’s flank, and the brave dog let out a sharp yelp but refused to release Barrett’s mangled arm.

"Titan, no!" Willa screamed.

Knowing the dog would be killed, Willa made a split-second decision. Spotting a fallen decorative brass fire poker near the fireplace, she set Penny safely behind an overturned mahogany sideboard, charged forward with all her might, and swung the heavy brass bar directly into the side of Barrett’s head.

The blow landed with a sickening thud. Barrett’s eyes rolled back, and he slumped limp onto the blood-spattered floor.

At that exact moment, the courtyard gates were obliterated by the reinforced bumper of an armored truck.