Her cry.
There was no time to waste. With the weapon in both hands, I rushed through the floor, scanning one side then the other until the smoke began to roll down the hallway.
I pulled back, covering my mouth and nose. A loud boom coming from below caught my attention.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
The three gunshots were followed by several shouts. So much for our clandestine approach. I rushed forward, kicking open one door then another. The beam of the flashlight barely cut through the rolling fog of smoke, but it was enough that when a shadow came out of nowhere, I had two seconds to react.
Pop! Pop!
The bullets were at close range, the man’s head blown halfway off. I rushed from the scene, avoiding a patch of debris by jumping over it. Within seconds, another form appeared in the hallway.
I dropped and rolled as the soldier fired.
Boots were heard behind me and I swung around, barely recognizing Dante before I fired. He had a couple of soldiers behind me. “We heard sounds. The door we came in was locked.”
“Fucking shit,” I hissed. The fuckers had been waiting for us.
“This way,” I yelled and continued running. Almost to the end of the floor, a door was thrown open and all I noticed was a blur a split second before a hard, heavy body was thrown against mine and the force pitched us both into another room.
A wash of pain tore through me as I crashed into several crates, breaking through them to the floor.
The assassin yelled, trying to fire his weapon, but I grabbed it. We fought, rolling back and forth while pieces of wood were crushed under us. He almost managed to point the barrel in mydirection, but I threw everything I had into altering my grip, bending my wrist.
“Aaaawwww…” I snarled and as soon as I had the barrel against his chest, I fired.
He was thrown back, gasping for air. I jumped to my feet, kicking him down before grabbing the weapon and firing again. This time, he’d stay down.
The smoke was even worse. I wiped my face with my sleeve, stumbling back into the hallway.
More thumping drew my attention.
Dante flanked my side, struggling to catch his breath. “Two are down.”
“This way.” With the smoke the fucking floor was becoming a goddamn maze. Another sound and I swung around, this time to find Kazimir directly behind.
“Another fire on the first floor. All the entrances blocked.” He shook his head.
Something caught my attention and without hesitation, I ran toward it. We were suddenly in a massive room, half the floor having already given out.
I skidded to a stop just before being tossed through a large hole and threw my arms out.
Flames were swimming across the roof, but that wasn’t what bothered me. The sight of Vivian tied to a pole was.
“Fuck,” I hissed. Both Kazimir and Dante were right beside me. I swung the beam in her direction, catching her eyes. She was in a goddamn gag. “Stay there, baby. I’m coming.”
Only I wasn’t. At least not yet. There was additional movement as more soldiers lunged in our direction.
I managed to get off a clean shot that barely nicked an asshole before he snapped his weapon across my face.
Pop! Pop!
With a hard kick to the fucker’s abdomen, he was pitched over the edge. I didn’t have time to give a shit whether he was down for good before another came at me.
A loud whoosh and a series of crackling noises meant the building was coming down. I could not look up and see the sky, smoke billowing from the hole.
What I’d also noticed were several crates of ammunition on the third floor. With the fire crawling up from the first floor, it wouldn’t be long before explosions started. The chance of survival would be next to nothing.
