Page 197 of Damián

“No! Oliver, move!” he screams, shoving his hand against my chest to push me backward.

I twist around just in time to see the guard I shot. Despite his shattered knee, the man has managed to drag himself back up to his feet and he’s now right on top of me, with a long knife in his hand ready to stab me to death.

CHAPTER 23

DAMIÁN

The smell of burning wood and dirt is thick enough to make me choke. My head hurts, my arm is bleeding, and I’m pretty sure I broke a rib.

I turn a corner, and a man attacks me with a knife. I duck, and—ouch!

Okay… I broke two ribs.

I kick back, sweeping his legs out from under him. He hits the floor. I bring my boot down on his chest and fire a single round.

“Second bar area, cleared,” says Knox over the comms.

“I’m halfway done with the eastern entrance. Anyone close to the main gate?”

“I am, boss,” Leif responds, and I can barely hear him over all the shooting in the background. “Careful getting near the fountain. There is a secondary machine gun on the third floor. It almost blew my arm off.”

“Thanks for the heads up. I’m on my way there.” I reload my assault rifle and take the path on the left. “What side of the fountain is the—Whoa!” A man charges out from a side garden, swinging a machete.

I raise my assault rifle to his chest and squeeze the trigger twice. He slumps against the pine wall and falls to the ground.

“Damián, are you okay? I can’t see you on the monitors.”

“All good, Alexios. A guy with a machete ran out of nowhere.”

“What type of machete?” Björn asks… because, of course, he would.

“I don’t know…” I lean closer to the man on the floor and check the weapon. “It’s a billhook.”

“Ahh, Dami…”

“No, Björn! I’m not a vulture.”

“Pretty please! You know how hard it is to find a good-quality billhook outside Europe?” he begs.

But I don’t relent; I keep walking.

“I’ll owe you a wish!” Björn offers.

“Deal!” I immediately jog back to get the billhook, because owning a wish from my crazy Viking is like having a green mushroom in Super Mario. You’ll never know when you’ll need it, but it’s always good to have one.

“Arrghhh!” Tae screams on the comms, and I freeze.

“Tae? Are you okay?” I ask, but Tae doesn’t answer. I look around, but with all the smoke, I can’t see a thing beyond ten yards. “Tae?! Does anyone have eyes on Tae?”

“I spotted him heading toward the pool area, about five minutes ago.”

I change direction and run. “Do you have any visual now, Law?”

“I don’t.”

“Alexios?” I ask, jumping over a fallen tree.

“There’s too much smoke. I have no vision beyond the western fountain.”