Page 9 of Liam
“Everyone get down!” someone shouted.
She wasn’t sure which man the words came from, but the second they were out of his mouth, more shots were fired.
She dropped, breath sawing in and out of her chest as she crawled behind the closest table. Under the sound of bullets, she heard the distinct sound of people hitting and moving on the floor. Party guests trying to find cover or safety.
With a quick breath, she shifted her head out from behind the table. It was easy to spot the shooters. Some were dressed as servers. Others were men wearing suits, possibly having infiltrated the party as guests. Butallof them had pulled balaclavas over their heads, making them stand out. They moved with confidence and speed, like they had military or law enforcement training.
Everyone was trying to take cover behind something.
It was chaos. Pure chaos. Bullets flew everywhere, and every so often, a body hit the floor.
Oh God. Who were they? And why were they attacking the party? They only seemed to be shooting at the Blue Halo and Marble Protection guys, but maybe that was because they were the biggest threats?
At the loud thud of a body dropping behind her, she turned to find one of the masked servers had fallen to the floor just feet away.
Her breath caught. He was also wearing a balaclava, but his eyes were open, bullet wound to the forehead. She recognized those eyes. Almost black…
It was the man she’d almost bumped into on her way into work.
Oh, Jesus.
A whimper sounded from her right, and Nylah turned her head to see a woman holding a young child against her chest. The girl didn’t look much older than five.
The mother was looking around the room, likely searching for an exit, except both the front and back of the room were covered, and who knew if there were more shooters in the kitchen.
Nylah scanned for the small storage room she’d accidentally stepped into earlier in the day. It was a few feet away, tucked into the corner. Inside, there was a door that led to a side exit of the building.
Maybe none of the attackers knew about it, because no one was trying to cover the storage room to prevent escape.
She shuffled toward the mother and child. When she was close, the mother raised her head.
“There’s a door that leads outside in that storage closet over there,” Nylah whispered. “I’ll lead you over.”
The mother looked at it with desperate eyes. “Thank you! I need to get Mila out of here.”
Nylah nodded, her heart aching for both of them. The kid already looked terrified.
“Follow me. I’ll try to cover you.” Nylah turned, and as they slowly made their way to the door, she made sure to stay between them and the bullets flying across the room. As she passed the dead body, she grabbed the guy’s gun and kept moving.
When they made it to the door, Nylah briefly looked around, then reached up and opened it, breathing a sigh of relief when it was unlocked.
The room was small and dark and filled with cleaning supplies. She closed the door once they were all inside, flipping on the lights before hurrying across the room to the other door. Locked. Crap!
Quickly, she pulled a bobby pin from her hair.
“What are you doing?” the woman asked.
“My twin brother showed me how to pick a lock when I was a teenager. You can only really do it with old locks like this.” She stuck the bobby pin into the keyhole and worked it the way Cody had taught her. Every second that passed had another trickle of sweat beading on her forehead. When she heard the click of the lock, she finally blew out a relieved breath.
Thank you, Cody.
She tugged the door open. Before sending the mother and child out, she stuck her head outside to see that no one was around. Good. She looked back at the woman. “Go! Find safety.”
The woman stepped out, then turned. “Aren’t you coming?”
“No. I’m going to go back and see if there’s anyone else I can help get out. Do you know how to shoot?” The woman nodded, and Nylah handed her the pistol. “Take this. Shoot anyone who looks like a threat.”
The woman’s brows flickered, and for a moment Nylah thought she wasn’t going to take the weapon. Finally, she slipped the gun from Nylah’s fingers. “Thank you.”
