Chapter 151: Open Fire Immediately
Chapter 151: Open Fire Immediately
Right after that, a massive cloud of metal dust exploded through the entire backyard, flickering with an eerie glow in the faint moonlight, its concentration hitting a deadly threshold.
At that exact moment, several hitmen kicked the backyard gate wide open. They rushed in with guns raised and immediately inhaled a huge lungful of the choking dust.
"Dominic, shoot now — blast that burning wooden door, do it!"
Dominic raised his submachine gun and pulled the trigger, firing straight at the door that was still engulfed in flames.
The bullets tore through the burning planks, sending sparks flying in every direction, instantly igniting the high-concentration metal dust in the air and triggering a terrifying chain reaction.
A deafening dust explosion ripped through the backyard. The massive shockwave, mixed with blinding, scorching flames, swallowed the hitmen whole.
A large section of the solid courtyard wall was blown apart. Chunks of brick and dirt rained down like a storm, and the ground shook violently beneath them.
A split second before the explosion hit, Dominic threw himself onto Penelope again, pressing his body over hers and shielding her from the deadly blast.
A fierce ringing tore through Penelope's head. She felt like her insides were being shaken apart, and a thick, metallic taste of blood rose in her throat.
She shoved Dominic off her — he had already slipped into a half-conscious state — forced herself to her feet, and reached for his blood-soaked arm.
"Dom, don't you close your eyes. Get up. We have to get out of this place right now."
Dominic bit down on the tip of his tongue, using the sharp pain to force himself awake. He staggered to his feet and grabbed Penelope's wrist in a tight grip.
"Move. Go through that hole in the wall. My car's parked just outside the alley."
He was breathing hard. He pulled Penelope along, and they stumbled through the rubble and shattered remains, fighting their way out of the backyard that looked like pure hell on earth.
The alley outside was thick with the smell of smoke. The cold night wind hit their skin, and Penelope felt her pounding heart settle just a little.
They leaned on each other and made it to the black SUV. Dominic reached out to grab the door handle — and that's when everything went wrong in an instant.
A savage roar of an engine suddenly erupted from the darkness at the far end of the alley. Blinding high beams sliced through the dark like two sharp blades, and a heavy-duty SUV came screaming forward.
The glare completely wiped out Penelope's vision. She couldn't tell where the vehicle had come from or which blind spot it had burst out of.
The SUV was moving terrifyingly fast, barreling toward her with a force that felt like it could crush anything in its path.
In that split second, Dominic's big, battle-hardened body acted on pure muscle instinct.
He didn't hesitate for even half a second. He reached out with both blood-covered hands and grabbed Penelope hard by the shoulders.
With a low, fierce roar, he threw every bit of strength he had left into hurling her toward the safety of the wall beside them.
Penelope had barely hit the dusty ground when a sickening, bone-deep crash exploded in her ears.
The SUV's heavy metal bumper slammed into the right side of Dominic's body. The force of the impact launched him off his feet.
He flew through the air in a broken arc and crashed down onto the asphalt more than ten yards away, where shards of broken glass littered the ground.
His body rolled across the rough pavement and left a horrifying trail of dark red blood before he finally slammed into a trash can and stopped.
The moment Penelope saw it, it felt like an invisible iron fist had crushed her heart in one squeeze. She couldn't breathe.
That overwhelming, suffocating terror of losing him crashed over her like a wave and drowned out every last bit of her reason and the calm she had always forced herself to wear.
The SUV had missed its mark. Its tires screamed against the pavement as it reversed, lining up for a second run to finish the job.
The hitman behind the wheel wore a black balaclava. His eyes were cold and full of killing intent, locked onto Dominic lying in a pool of blood.
Something snapped in Penelope's eyes — a raw, savage fury unlike anything she had ever felt before. Her eyes were completely bloodshot.
She shoved herself off the ground and reached for the concealed tactical holster strapped to her outer thigh.
With a sharp metallic scrape, she drew a compact but devastatingly powerful black tactical pistol.
Penelope gripped the handle with both hands. Her aim was steady, locked onto the heavy SUV that was reversing hard toward them. Her expression was ice cold.
She didn't hesitate for a single moment. She pulled the trigger, and the muzzle erupted with a burst of deadly orange flame.
A thunderous crack split through the narrow alley. The first round punched straight through the front left tire with perfect precision.
Fighting through the brutal recoil, Penelope kept pulling the trigger. The next two shots blew out the front right tire and punched through the radiator.
The SUV let out a shriek of twisting metal and completely lost control, slamming hard into the load-bearing wall beside it.
Thick white smoke poured from under the hood. The hitman inside was badly rattled, blood streaming down his forehead, unable to move.
Penelope tossed the empty gun aside and sprinted toward Dominic like she had lost her mind.
She had lost one of her heels during the fall earlier. She didn't care. She ran barefoot across the ground covered in broken glass and rubble.
The sharp shards cut through the soles of her feet without mercy. Blood ran down her ankles. She didn't feel a thing.
When Penelope finally dropped to her knees beside Dominic, her face — always so composed, always so cold — had gone completely white, drained of every trace of color.
Dominic lay still in a glaring pool of blood. His black tactical clothing had been torn to shreds, and his body was covered in wounds of every size.
The old wound on his abdomen — the one that had just been stitched up in the medical room — had been torn completely open by the force of the impact.
Blood poured freely from the ragged gash, spreading fast beneath him into a large, horrifying puddle.
Penelope's hands were shaking like leaves in the wind. Tears finally broke free and streamed down her face, falling in heavy drops onto Dominic's blood-streaked face.
The hard armor she had always kept locked around herself shattered completely in that moment — not a single piece left.
"Dom. Open your eyes. I'm not letting you sleep."
Her voice came out raw and broken.