Chapter 4 - SHATTERED CRYSTAL
Adrian tackled me before the sound of the gunshot registered.
His heavy body slammed me onto the Persian rug behind the mahogany desk.
The deafening crack of a high-caliber rifle echoed across the courtyard.
A bullet tore through the leather chair right where his head had been seconds earlier.
The study filled with cold autumn wind and the smell of gunpowder.
"Stay down!" Adrian commanded.
His voice was pure ice.
He reached beneath the kneehole of his desk and pulled out a matte-black Sig Sauer.
He checked the chamber in one fluid motion.
I pressed my face against the floor, glass crunching under my shoulder.
"Are you hit?" he asked, his hand checking my ribs and neck with clinical precision.
"No," I gasped, trembling against his chest.
"Good."
He crawled forward on his elbows, peering over the edge of the sill.
A second shot blew through the mahogany bookshelf, sending paper confetti raining down.
"Sniper on the north carriage house," Adrian muttered.
He pulled a small radio from his pocket.
"Marcus. Perimeter breach. North quadrant. Take them alive."
Static answered him.
Nothing else.
Adrian’s jaw clenched so hard his cheek muscles twitched.
"They took out my outer guard," he said.
"Grant?" I asked, my heart pounding in my ears.
"Vincent Wells," Adrian corrected grimly.
"With Grant holding the door open."
Footsteps pounded on the hardwood corridor outside the study.
Heavy. Rapid. Tactical boots.
Adrian grabbed my wrist, pulling me up into a crouch.
He dragged me toward the private elevator hidden behind the false bookcase.
"Where are we going?" I asked, my legs shaking.
"The underground garage."
He shoved the brass key into my palm.
"Keep this on you. If I fall, you run to the First Federal depository on Broad Street."
"I'm not leaving you!" I snapped, surprising myself.
Adrian looked down at me.
A faint, dangerous smirk touched the corner of his lips.
"You really are Thomas Bennett’s daughter."
The study door shuddered under a heavy breaching kick.
Adrian didn't wait.
He thrust his gun around the edge of the doorframe and fired three rapid shots.
A scream tore through the hallway.
A body collapsed with a wet thud.
Adrian shoved me into the elevator cab and slammed the iron gate shut.
He hit the basement button.
Through the iron grate, I saw three masked men in black tactical gear burst into the study.
Adrian raised his weapon, standing directly in front of the gate to shield me.
He fired twice.
Two men dropped.
The third man fired a burst from a submachine gun.
Sparks sprayed across the iron bars.
Adrian grunted, staggering back against the elevator door.
A dark red stain blossomed across his white shirt near his left shoulder.
"Adrian!" I screamed, grabbing his arm through the bars.
The elevator shuddered and began its descent into the dark shaft.
Adrian leaned heavily against the metal wall, his breathing rough and wet.
He looked down at me, his eyes burning with defiance.
"They made one mistake, Nora."
May you like
He coughed, wiping blood from his bottom lip.
"They didn't kill me in the room."
