Page 129 of Midnight Sanctuary

Dominik checks his weapons as he listens. “No commotion?”

“Not if you can avoid it. I don’t want to risk them hurting Alyssa. She’s in a delicate position and anything might set her off.”

Dominik nods and gestures for his men to follow him. I give him a minute’s head start, then we follow quietly, hidden from sight by the mass of trees. But the closer we get, the more the treeline begins to thin. We stop a few feet shy of where we’d be easily seen.

Dominik twists around to lock eyes with me. “I can try taking them out from here. But there’s a chance I’ll miss.”

I move forward, put my silencer on and take aim. “Don’t worry about it. I got this.”

It takes a second to get my hand to stop shaking, but once I focus on the man on the left, I feel a strange sense of calm settle over me.

Thisis what I know. It’s what I was raised for, trained for, molded for.

More importantly, the stakes have never been higher. Instead of agitating my nerves, it pulls them back. I’m not about to put Alyssa in further danger because I couldn’t get a hold of myself when she needed me most.

I take a deep breath, open both eyes, and fire. The first bullet catches the first guard right in the forehead. My aim is perfect. I don’t hesitate from there—I slide my gun two inches to the right and shoot again. I’m aiming for thismudak’sforehead, too, but I get him in the nose instead, obliterating his face as his blood splatters like abstract art against the white-washed stucco wall behind him.

Nothing moves. Not the birds or the squirrels or the warm California night beyond.

I lower my gun and turn triumphantly to the men behind me. “All’s clear on this side.”

Dominik is staring at me with wide, disbelieving eyes. “Jesus.”

Nikolai just rolls his eyes. “Show off,” he mutters, pushing past Dominik and his men. “Come on, we gotta move fast.”

I give Dominik a parting nod as he takes his men and marches around back. Quietly, I murmur commands to my troops. “Nikolai and Dimiv with me. Anton, watch our backs. Have a vehicle ready to move Alyssa fast if we need to.” I make eye contact with Artem. “And call Dr. Emily. Tell her to be ready at a moment’s notice.”

Once the delegation is taken care of, we move fast for the front door. I make sure to keep an eye on the windows but Dimiv was right—those shutters are nailed down tight. Nothing to be seen there.

“Should we break down the door?” Dimiv asks when we reach the entrance.

“That’s going to create noise,” Nikolai warns.

I ignore both of them and reach for the handle. I twist and push and the door swings open easily. The darkness of the interior yawns like the mouth of a cave. There’s no telling what kind of creatures are waiting within.

“Anyone think that was a little too easy?” Nikolai whispers.

He’s right, but I can’t afford to look a gift horse in the mouth right now. I venture inside, gun at the ready, my red laser dot dancing across the far wall.

I glance around the corner to find three men on the sofa watching a basketball game. All three of us take aim and all three men go down simultaneously with silenced bullets to the backs of their head.

As far as death goes, it’s a good way to go out. Oblivious and entertained.

Their comrades won’t be so lucky.

We move quickly through the house, taking down any man that comes our way. Six more bodies hit the ground before we get to the center of the deceivingly large house.

“This is it,” Dimiv whispers. “We’ve covered the whole floor. Every room is empty.”

I shake my head. “There’s a trap door somewhere. Has to be. He’s got her here. I can feel it.”

I start pulling at the paintings and mismatched hangings that decorate the walls in odd places. I hit the jackpot when I reach a long burgundy carpet that’s been nailed to the top of the wall. Tearing it down reveals a narrow, rickety wooden door that opens to a staircase winding down.

More darkness.

More caves.

More unknown creatures beyond.

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