Page 54 of Craving Danger

“Shit,” I whimper, and a grim sense of dread fills my chest.

Suddenly, Mr. Vitale darts forward, and in absolute horror, I watch as he kicks a man who's wearing a combat uniform in the gut. The man staggers back, and Mr. Vitale shoots him right between the eyes.

The gunshot is so loud it makes me shriek with fright.

Mr. Vitale grabs the dead man’s weapon and checks how many bullets it has.

With him having the bigger weapon, he shoves his gun into my hands, then says, “If something happens to me, find a place to hide. If anyone comes near you, shoot them.”

“I-I’ve never f-fired a g-gun,” I stammer, the gun heavy in my hand.

“Just point and pull the trigger,” he mutters as he tucks the hilt of the bigger weapon between his elbow and chest, and looking pretty badass, he steps out of the office.

Shocked out of my mind, I stand frozen.

I hear more gunshots, then Mr. Vitale shouts, “Come, Samantha! Stay behind me.”

Somehow, I manage to move, and as soon as I leave the office, I shift closer to Mr. Vitale until I’m almost glued to his back.

When he takes a step, I match it, and every time he shoots someone, a wave of shock hits me.

This is insane.

As we move past the lobby, the elevator doors open. Two men step out, and Mr. Vitale manages to shoot one of them while shoving me so hard I fall onto my butt and slide a couple of inches backward.

In a stunned stupor, I watch as my boss becomes a freaking ninja. Lunging his powerful body into the air, he avoids a bullet and delivers a kick to the side of the man’s head. As the man stumbles to the side, Mr. Vitale lands effortlessly on his feet.

Holy shit. That was badass.

He ends the man’s life by burying two bullets in his chest, then swings around and rushes to where I’m still sitting flat on my butt.

Chapter 18

Franco

It’s been ten minutes since I pressed the panic button on my wristwatch.

Renzo and the others have received my exact location and will be here soon.

I grab hold of Samantha’s bicep and haul her to her feet before pulling her toward the stairs.

I’m fucking worried about Milo and Lorenzo. With men getting past them so quickly, it means we’re being attacked by half an army.

As we cautiously take the stairs up to the sixth floor, my phone starts to vibrate. I quickly dig the device out of my pocket, and seeing Milo’s name flashing on the screen, I answer, “Where are you?”

“Third floor. You?”

“In the stairwell. We’re heading to the sixth floor.”

“I’m coming.”

I end the call and put the phone back in my pocket, then glance at Samantha’s pale face.

“How are you holding up?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “I’m not.”

“It will be over soon.”

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