Page 49 of Light Me Up

He shrank back behind the wall, motionless. Noteven breathing.

“…crazy? Put me down!” A woman, whispering fiercely.

“What, you think you’re going to sprint in those heels?”a man replied.

“Fuck the heels! Just give me a second! I have the flats, remember?”

“Don’t have a second. After. As soon as we’re alone.”

“Oh, for God’s sake,” the woman muttered as the sound of swiftly running feet pounded past the door and then faded away.

Konig leaned to peer out after them. The light that came into the broken windows from the grounds was just enough to see the flash of crimson from the woman’s fluttering skirt.

Aha. Gallagher andhis wife.Yes.

Konig waited until they had gotten all the way down the hall and turned the corner into a part of the Palazzo that still had light.

When he looked around the corner, they were disappearing into the door between the statues of Artemis and Aphrodite. Heading straight for the Zeus and Europa room.

His hand tightened around his pistol grip as he raced after them.

Chapter 18

“Caro? What the hell? We have to go. Now!”

Noah stopped halfway through the Zeus rotunda when he realized Caro was no longer keeping pace with him. He should never have set her down, no matterwhat she said.

His skin crawled with alarm and his ears still rang from the bomb blast. It had compromised his augmented hearing, dampening it down to barely normal human levels. Which sucked. He needed all his AVP capacities jacked to themax right now.

“One second. My shoes. I’m crippled in these damn things.” Caro was crouched near the room’s entrance, her evening bag on the floor next to her. “Stupid strap caught on my heel.”

Noah pulled out his smartphone and tapped the flashlight function. It lit up the material of her dark crimson dress spread out upon the mosaic tiles like apool of blood.

Caro finally yanked off the sandal, grumbling fiercely under her breath.

He listened intently for pursuers while Caro tugged her flats on, but heard nothing. Just muffled noise from the ground floor, sirens of the arriving emergency vehicles, the hum and chatter of agitated voices, some wailing and shouting. It felt strange, like his ears were plugged.

“There. Done,” Caro said triumphantly. “Mobile again.So let’s get—”

Click. Light blazed. Noah gasped in pain, covering his eyes.

The chandelier. Someone had turned it on while his eyes were completely unshielded, dilated, and in fullinfrared mode.

Blinded.Fuck.

Boom.Gunfire. The sound was huge in the echoing round room. Noah launched himself toward the nearby statue of Europa and the bull, or at least to the place where he last remembered seeing it. He hit the floor, and the phone flew from hisgrasp, sliding.

He groped around for it. Couldn’t see the damn thing. Couldn’t see at all.

Boom.The gun went off again. Fuck, and no cover in this whole fucking room other than the statueand the table.

He heard a creak and rattle above him. Caro had fled up the staircase and into the wooden gallery above. Not much protection there either.

Boom.Noah lunged out from behind the base of the statue, groping blindly for his phone. He had to ramp up the lens shield protection so he could fight that motherfucker.

Boom.A bullet hit the tiles near his head. Fragments stung his face. He scrambled back again.

“Who sent you?” a booming male voice demanded. He’d heard it before. Konig, the guy he’d seen with Folti this afternoon. Big, bald, and at that time, conveniently sickto his stomach.

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