Page 1 of Tango
Chapter 1
Alice
With tears in my eyes and my back pressed up against a server tower, I remain as still as I possibly can. The warmth at my back is nothing compared to the fire in my veins. How did this go so wrong? How did we end up here? This shouldn’t be happening. God, why is this happening?
The flash drive in my hand feels like it’s made of lead as I quietly slip it into the pocket of my jeans. It’s all I have left. The only proof I have that my best friend was murdered in cold blood. All because he’d stumbled onto a hole in Web Safe’s security. He was just doing his job, and now— He paid for it with his life.
I try to keep my breathing steady, but with the adrenaline pulsing through my system, it’s nearly impossible. I can hear muttering somewhere behind me, likely the security team planning their next move. Why they haven’t just come in here already, I can’t be sure. It’s not like I’m much of a fighter. Not compared to their training. The gun in my hand isn’t even mine. Ramiro brought it with him. Almost as though he was prepared for a fight.
With a deep breath, I slide down the server tower then set the weapon beside me. My arm might as well be covered with acid with all the pain shooting through my nervous system. I reach over and gently tug the sleeve of my shirt to the side to check the bullet hole. It’s deep, but not deadly—I don’t think. Blood saturates my fingertips when I pull them away.
For the span of a few heartbeats, I close my eyes. I will not die here. His death will not be in vain.
But how am I supposed to survive? It’s not like I can shoot my way out. My mom’s words echo through my mind—when things get overwhelming, take them one step at a time.
One step at a time.
I can do that.
First step—stop the bleeding. Using my good arm, I slip the bandanna off my hair. I put one corner between my teeth, then wrap it around my arm, and tie it. I choke on a whimper as fresh pain shoots through my arm. Step one, check.
Now, step two—get out of here alive so I can take the information I have to the authorities. With my injured arm wrapped, I retrieve my weapon again then stand and glance to my right. Ramiro’s body is lying unmoving in a pool of blood. His eyes are closed, and if it weren’t for the blood saturating the gray T-shirt he’d worn the last time we did trivia night, I might have thought he was merely sleeping.
The bloodstained truth is staring me in the face though: He’s gone. My best friend is dead, and there’s nothing I can do about it if I join him.
Grief constricts my throat, making it nearly impossible to breathe.
It all happened so fast.
Zero to a million in less than three heartbeats.
“I know you’re in here, Alice!” Darren Wade, a member of the security team, calls out. He’s taunting me—something he’s enjoyed doing since I started work here and turned him down. Though, until now, a gun was never involved. Guess I made the right choice there—sadistic psychopath and all. “There’s no way out. Give up, and I promise to give you a chance to fight back.”
I take a deep, steadying breath. This is hardly the first fight I’ve been in, but it’s definitely for the highest stakes.
Even more than life-or-death.
Because the secrets they’re trying to steal could burn the world to the ground. And now I’m the only outsider who knows about it.
“Come on, Alice, you’re a lost cause.” He’s close.
I scan the area in front of me. The sole door is behind me, which would mean having to engage directly with him. Given I only have two bullets left while he has at least nine, thanks to the double-stack magazine in his .45, it’s suicide to try and shoot my way out. Especially since I give it about two minutes before the rest of his team descends on this room like wolves.
Okay, Alice. Think. Think. One step at a time.
The far wall is made entirely of heavily tinted glass that I don’t believe is bulletproof. Now, I could be wrong, but if I am, then I’m dead anyway. There’s no chance I’m getting out of this alive unless I’m granted a miracle.
God, please give me a miracle.
I’m two stories up, but the front of the building has a canopy over the entrance, and if I can jump out at the right angle, then I might be able to hit it to break my fall.
Maybe.
I glance over at Ramiro again, and anger replaces my grief.
They gunned him down, and all he’d been doing was trying to find the truth.
They won’t do the same to me.
