Chapter 33 · Lead Rain

The barrel finished spinning up, and the noise wasn't a gunshot.

It was a scream. One long, ripping shriek, like the whole concrete floor was getting sheared in half.

Dante grabbed my waist and threw us both behind the steel gun cage. My knees hit the slab hard. My teeth clicked together, jarring straight into my skull.

Then the drywall simply vanished.

Heavy rounds chewed through the doorframe above us, spitting chunks of pulverized plaster into my hair. Something white-hot clipped my cheekbone. Blood or burning brass, I didn't care.

"Stay down!" Dante shouted against my ear. His voice was raw gravel.

He pressed flat against my back. His blood was soaking through what was left of my silk gown, slick, hot, and way too fast.

The minigun choked to a sudden stop. The ringing in my ears rushed in to fill the hole.

"Little Moretti!" Carbone's voice boomed down the corridor. Loud. Cheerful. Deranged. "Your uncle says hi! He said I can bring you back in garbage bags if you don't walk out!"

The motor started whining again, spinning up the barrels.

"Charming bastard," Dante muttered.