Chapter 6 - Betrayal and Abduction
The convoy of four armored SUVs rolled down the quiet, tree-lined highway toward Lake Geneva at dusk.
Inside the second vehicle, Hunter sat in the plush leather backseat, holding Leo in his car seat while Lorenzo reviewed documents on a tablet beside her. The mood inside the car was calm, peaceful, protected by four inches of bulletproof glass and six heavily armed guards leading and trailing them.
"He fell asleep," Hunter smiled, pointing at Leo, who was snoring softly.
Lorenzo looked at his son, then reached across the seat and took Hunter’s hand in his, lacing their fingers together. "He knows he’s safe with you."
Suddenly, a deafening explosion shattered the quiet evening.
BOOM!
The lead SUV burst into a ball of orange fire as a rocket-propelled grenade slammed into its engine block. The driver of Lorenzo’s car slammed on the brakes, tires screeching violently as the heavy vehicle swerved across the highway.
"Ambush!" Gideon screamed from the front passenger seat, drawing his weapon. "Don Rossi, take cover!"
Before Lorenzo could move, two heavy cement trucks pulled out from the side road, blocking the convoy from behind. Dozens of armed men in tactical gear poured out from the surrounding woods, opening fire on the vehicles.
Bullets rained down on the armored glass like hail, spider-webbing the windshield.
"Stay down!" Lorenzo roared, throwing his broad body over Hunter and Leo’s car seat, shielding them with his own back. He pulled his dark custom pistol from his chest holster, his eyes burning with red-hot fury.
"Gideon, clear a path!" Lorenzo ordered over the radio.
"They've disabled our tires with spike strips, Boss!" Gideon shouted back through the gunfire. "There are too many of them! It’s a coordinated strike!"
Lorenzo kicked the rear door open, using the heavy armored door as a shield as he returned fire, dropping three incoming attackers with terrifying precision.
"Hunter! Get under the seat!" Lorenzo barked over the deafening noise of automatic weapons.
Hunter scrambled down, shielding Leo with her body, tears of terror blinding her eyes. "Lorenzo, be careful!"
Through the smoke and chaos, a heavy tear-gas canister bounced inside the broken door of the SUV. Thick, suffocating gray smoke instantly filled the cabin.
Hunter began to cough violently, her eyes burning, her vision blurring. She held Leo tight against her chest, but through the dense smoke, a shadowed figure stepped up to the vehicle door.
It wasn't Lorenzo.
A gloved hand reached in, grabbing Hunter violently by her hair and pulling her out of the SUV.
"Get your hands off her!" Lorenzo’s voice roared through the smoke, followed by the sound of heavy fists and gunshots. But two men lunged at Lorenzo, tackling the mafia Don to the ground, pinning his arms as a third man struck him across the back of the head with a steel pipe.
Lorenzo fell to his knees, blood pouring down his face, his vision swimming.
Through the haze of blood and smoke, Lorenzo watched in helpless, agonizing horror as Jimmy Vance dragged a weeping, screaming Hunter toward a black van.
"Lorenzo!" Hunter shrieked, her voice echoing across the burning highway. "Lorenzo, save Leo! Save our baby!"
Jimmy shoved Hunter into the back of the van, slamming the doors shut. The van accelerated wildly, tearing away down a side dirt road into the dark forest.
"No... NO!" Lorenzo let out an animalistic, blood-curdling roar that echoed across the valley.
With strength born of pure, unadulterated madness, Lorenzo threw off the two men pinning him, snapped the neck of the nearest attacker with his bare hands, and stood up in the middle of the burning wreckage.
Blood poured down his cheek, dripping onto his white shirt, but his eyes were no longer human. They were the cold, terrifying eyes of a demon unleashed.
Gideon ran up to him, bleeding from his shoulder. "Boss! Boss, are you okay?!"
Lorenzo grabbed Gideon by the collar, his grip so tight the fabric tore.
"Call every captain in the state," Lorenzo growled, his voice a horrifying whisper that sent chills down Gideon’s spine. "Shut down the borders. Burn down every warehouse owned by the Moretti family. I want every man, every woman, every child associated with Victor Moretti brought to their knees."
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Lorenzo looked down the dark dirt road where the van had vanished.
"They took my woman," Lorenzo roared into the night air. "And I am going to burn this entire city to the ground to bring her back."
