The late afternoon sun slanted through the dusty windows of the pizza shop. Valentina stood behind the counter with Tony, sleeves rolled up, hair twisted into a careless bun. She was reading off delivery addresses while Tony scribbled them down in his notebook. The ovens hummed in the kitchen.
The bell above the door chimed.
Inferi walked in. His eyes were wrong. Behind him, three men followed, hands tucked into jackets.
"Everybody out!" Inferi shouted.
His men moved instantly. Tables scraped violently across the floor. One was kicked over, plates shattering. A chair cracked against the wall. People screamed. Pizza slices flew in the air. The OPEN sign was flipped to CLOSED.
Customers fled. The door banged repeatedly as bodies pushed through it. Within seconds, the warmth of the shop was replaced by fear.
Veronica turned, grabbed Valentina by the arm, and shoved her down beneath the counter. "Stay there!" Veronica hissed.
