The guard grunts in pain, but it’s not enough to knock him entirely off balance.
Luckily, Alessandro is immediately there to retaliate, throwing himself at the guard with a flurry of precise blows. I have to back down the stairs to avoid being punched in the face.
It’s a mistake I only realize is a mistake after something grabs at my ankle and yanks hard. I tumble forward, only managing to catch myself on the banister at the last second.
The split second it takes me to right myself is all the time the other guard needs to get the upper hand. He grabs hold of me and lurches forward, pushing me over the edge of the banister.
We’re only on the second floor, but the flight down two stories would likely fracture a few bones. Needless to say, I cling to the banister for dear life.
My attacker won’t have any of it. His relentless pushing is now accompanied by blows to the chest that threaten to wind me if I don’t do something soon.
Thinking fast, I grab hold of him with one hand, readjusting my grip with the other.
Then, suddenly, I remove all the resistance. I let myself be pushed over the side, dragging my attacker along with me.
It seems to happen in slow motion. His eyes are wide and wild as he realizes I’m taking him down with me.
For a moment, we’re in freefall. Then my other arm goes taunt as I cling to the metal bar above me.
I go to release him, to let him fall to his miserable fate. But the bastard clocks what I’m doing and clings to the arm that’s holding him.
“Let go,” I growl, my arm straining with the effort to keep us both up.
But he ignores me, holding on to me as if his life depends on it.
With a heaving groan, I kick him in the face. The first one lands just shy of his ear. But the second hit him square in the mouth.
It’s enough for his grip to loosen.
With one final kick, I manage to wriggle my arm free of his grip.
The guard falls unceremoniously to the basement floor. Despite my protesting arm, I spare him a look, wincing as I see him splayed out on the bottom step, blood oozing from his head.
That’s much worse than a fracture.
But I don’t have long to think about it. My fingers, now clammy on the metal bar, lock of their own accord.
In a fit of panic, I launch myself up, desperate to cling onto the banister with my other arm. But the movement dislodges me. My good hand flies up to try and grab hold of something, but it never quite finds purchase.
An awful, sinking feeling immediately sets in. I’m going to fall.
“Oh no, you don’t!” Dante is suddenly there, hand wrapped around my forearm, stopping my descent with a sudden, jerking motion.
I almost sigh in relief as he hurls me back over and onto stable ground.
Before me, Alessandro is standing over the other guard. Alessandro’s hands are almost as bloodied as the poor fucker’s face.
“I told you to wait for my signal,” I snap at him before giving Dante an appreciative slap on the back.
Alessandro turns to me, wildness dancing behind his wretched eyes. “There was an opening. I just took it.”
I want to dress him down then and there, but the likelihood that someone heard the altercation is too high. “Let’s just get this over with.”
The three of us descend the stairwell to the basement, tactfully stepping over the body on the bottom step, and slip out into the hallway.
The office itself is only a few doors down, and we find ourselves pushing our way inside without any further setbacks.
It’s dark, but I waste no time going over to the desk and sitting myself down behind a somewhat dated monitor.
