Page 116 of Beyond Enemy Vows
BANG.
The bullet catches him in the leg, dropping him instantly.
I fire once more.
BANG.
He goes quiet.
A guard rounds the corner of the building, automatic weapon raised. I duck as pieces of the wall explode around me from his bullets.
I squeeze the trigger.
BANG.
The bullet catches him in the face. He goes down hard, his gun skittering across the stone pathway.
Declan catches up and we get moving.
We sprint across the garden, keeping low behind the hedges. Behind us, I can hear chaos starting to happen.
"Declan!" A woman's voice calls out through the foyer. Keira stands at the bottom of a grand staircase, her red hair wild around her face. "Upstairs. She's up there. He took her, Niko!"
We make it to the door of the next mansion and rush inside.
My heart hammers against my ribs. "The study," I say, already moving. "Stay here," I add, turning back to Declan. "Guard the door and her." I nod to Keira.
He doesn't respond, just turns his aim at the doorway.
I take the stairs two at a time, each step sending fresh pain through my leg. But I push. She's close. So close.
As I reach the top of the stairs, a sound stops me cold.
It's the worst sound I could ever hear in my life.
Calli screaming.
The sound rips through me like a blade, more painful than any physical wound I've received tonight.
My vision narrows to a tunnel, focused only on the hallway ahead. I charge forward, no longer feeling pain, no longer feeling anything except a primal need to reach her.
39
CALLI
The sound of shouting and gunfire outside snaps me back to reality. I need to get out of here.
I look around frantically, my eyes darting from the locked door to the heavy wooden desk to the windows draped in burgundy velvet. I rush over and push the heavy curtains aside.
A balcony.Could I?I think.No, that jump looks too far.
I let the curtains go and they swing back, covering the window with a soft whoosh.
Okay, I didn't think this part through.
Relax, Calli. Focus.
I glance over my shoulder. I don't have the poison on me anymore. I hid it in the plant downstairs, and even if someone finds it, there's nothing that can tie me to this right now. Nothing except being alone in a room with a dead man.
