The alley erupted.
Shots cracked—sharp, deafening in the confined space. Bullets sparked off brick, pinged off metal dumpsters. The gunman in front of Tane jerked, spun, and dropped. The other two thugs scrambled for the SUV, but Cardini fire cut them down before they reached the doors.
It was over in seconds.
One of the Cardini men, broad-shouldered, earpiece, no-nonsense, rushed forward and grabbed Tane’s good arm.
“Move. Right now.”
Tane pulled Jacob with him. They sprinted toward the waiting SUVs as sirens began to wail in the distance, faint at first, then closer.
They piled into the back of the lead vehicle. Doors slammed. Tires squealed. The driver floored it.
Jacob was breathing hard, adrenaline-shaky, eyes bright.
“Who the fuck were those assholes?” Tane demanded, voice cracking on the last word.
The man in the passenger seat—same one who’d hauled them in—didn’t turn around.
“You don’t need to know,” he said. “And Jacob, you did good, kid. Held your ground long enough for Rivers to get there. Most guys would’ve folded.”
Jacob looked at Tane, then back at the man. “Thanks. I guess.”
The Cardini man gave a curt nod. “We’ll handle cleanup. You two disappear for a few days. Antonio’s orders.”
Tane met the man’s eyes in the rearview. “Appreciate it. And tell Antonio I’ll be in touch.”
They rode in tense silence for ten minutes—city lights streaking past, sirens fading behind them. When the driver finally pulled into an underground garage beneath one of the Cardini family’s safe houses, Tane exhaled for what felt like the first time since he’d stepped outside the restaurant.
They were ushered into a private elevator, up to a sparsely furnished penthouse suite. The Cardini man handed Tane a burner phone.
“Use this if you need anything. Stay off the grid until Antonio says otherwise.”
Then he was gone.
The door clicked shut.
Tane turned to Jacob.
Jacob was still wired: pupils blown, cheeks flushed, breathing fast. But the expression on his face wasn’t fear.
It was exhilaration.
“That wasinsane,” Jacob said, half-laughing, half-breathless. “Like… actual movie shit. They had guns. They had a fucking SUV. And you just?—”
Tane grabbed him by the shoulders gently, mindful of the healing ribs, and pulled him in.
“Stop,” Tane demanded.
Jacob blinked. “What?”
Tane cupped Jacob’s face with both hands, thumbs brushing over cheekbones.
“You’re shaking, boy,” Tane said, his voice calm now.
Jacob looked down at his own hands—indeed trembling—then back up. “Adrenaline. I’m fine. It’s nothing.”
“You’re not fine,” Tane said quietly. “You almost got taken tonight. They had a gun on you. Onus.”
