Chapter 6 - The Iron Fire Escape
Glass shards crunched beneath Dante’s boots as he vaulted through the shattered kitchen window, his injured side tearing with a sharp, blinding agony that he forced down with sheer willpower.
Mave tumbled out onto the rusted metal platform of the fire escape, her breath catching in her throat as the bitter November wind whipped her hair across her face. Below them, three stories down, the alley was a dark, watery chasm. Above them, the heavy thud of combat boots shook the apartment's interior walls.
"Move!" Dante yelled, grabbing her arm and shoving her toward the narrow, swinging metal staircase.
Before Mave could take a step, the window frame they had just evacuated splintered further. Paulie’s shaved head poked through the opening, his face twisted in a snarl, a heavy-duty automatic pistol tracking toward them.
Bruno didn't wait.
The massive Cane Corso, which had been lingering behind them, let out a terrifying, bone-rattling roar. With an explosive burst of muscle and fury, the dog lunged backward through the broken window frame, straight into the narrow opening.
A startled curse ripped from Paulie’s throat as eighty pounds of solid muscle slammed into his chest, knocking him hard against the interior wall and throwing his aim wide. A silenced bullet sparked off the iron railing of the fire escape, screeching into the night sky.
"Bruno, come!" Mave screamed, scrambling down the first flight of stairs with her heart hammering against her ribs.
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Dante fired a single warning shot back through the broken window, shattering the remaining glass, before grabbing the railing and swinging himself down after her. A moment later, the heavy dog cleared the window ledge in a single, desperate bound, landing squarely on the platform beside them with a heavy thud, tail tucked low but eyes blazing.
They hit the alley ground running, plunging headfirst into the freezing, driving rain just as a fresh wave of shouting echoed from the apartment above.
