Chapter 12 - BULLETS IN THE DARK
Another bullet slammed into the mahogany bookcase, sending splinters flying.
“Stay low!” Marco hissed, drawing his pistol.
“Salvatore's cleaners are inside.”
My heart raced in my throat.
I crawled frantically behind the heavy oak desk, pulling my phone out.
No service.
The signal jammer was active.
“Marco, how many of them?” I whispered.
“At least four,” he replied, peering cautiously around the edge of the doorway.
“They want the USB drive and the deed. They know we have them.”
Footsteps echoed heavily in the hallway outside.
Boots crunching on antique hardwood.
Creak.
Creak.
They were getting closer.
“We need to get to Nonna's room,” I whispered urgently.
“If they reach her first—”
“They won't,” Marco interrupted.
He pulled a spare Glock from his waistband and pressed it into my hand.
“Can you shoot?”
I looked at the heavy black steel.
I thought about Gabriel's betrayal.
I thought about Isabella's manipulation.
I thought about everything I had endured.
“I can,” I said coldly.
Marco nodded with grim approval.
“On three. We run for the service stairs.”
“One.”
“Two.”
“Three!”
We vaulted up from behind the desk.
Two masked men burst through the shattered doorway, their weapons raised.
Marco fired twice, dropping the first man instantly.
The second man swung his rifle toward me.
My hands stopped shaking.
I raised the Glock, squeezed the trigger, and fired straight into his shoulder.
He screamed, dropping his weapon and tumbling backward.
“Move!” Marco yelled.
May you like
We bolted out into the dark hallway, sprinting toward Nonna Antonella's suite at the far end of the west wing.
[CLIFFHANGER: They burst into Nonna's bedroom only to find the window wide open, Antonella missing, and a single red rose left on her empty bed.]
