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Unlocked.
He opened the door very slowly in case the damn thing whined or creaked on its hinges. It shouldn’t, considering the wealth and extravagance of the house, but he was in no mood to discover the hard way that he’d used the one noisy door in the entire place.
Slipping inside, he closed the door again and swept his gaze over the enormous kitchen that was lit by only a small work light over the stove. He couldn’t tell the color, but it looked pale in the dim light. An assortment of pots and pans hung from the ceiling over a center island covered in patterned tiles. There was a small table and two chairs in the kitchen that held salt, pepper, and sugar containers as well as a folded newspaper. Was that from the security team or from Señora Perez?
“Security guard headed your direction, Charlie,” Ed stated in a low, calm voice.
Charlie nodded, assuming the man likely had him visible on one of the house cameras. Each step was quick and silent as he darted over to the center island, staying out of sight of the two main entrances to the kitchen.
A couple of seconds later, a man in a dark suit strolled into the room, his attention locked on his phone, not even aware of his surroundings. Charlie barely kept from rolling his eyes as he lifted his gun and placed two slugs neatly in the man’s chest. The suppressor screwed on the front of the weapon kept the noise to a minimum, but the guy wasn’t small. It was as if half the house shook when he slammed into the counter and fell to the floor.
“One down,” Charlie murmured.
“One in the hall. Sneaking up the stairs,” Alexei immediately replied, sounding far too giddy about the entire thing. That time, Charlie did roll his eyes.
“I think they heard something. We’ve got one of the guards on the move from the guard station, headed to the kitchen,” Ed warned him.
“The other one?” Charlie eased around the island and carefully stepped over the sprawled legs of the dead man.
“Still in the guard office, but I think he might have noticed that there’s something wrong with the cameras. He’s popped his head out twice to look at the camera just outside the office.”
“I’ll be in the front door in less than thirty seconds,” Soren chimed in. “I’ll swing by the office on the way to the second floor.”
“East wing of the house is clear. Moving into the foyer,” Kairo chimed in.
Charlie grunted, his attention turning to the guard who was headed in his direction. He moved quickly, hoping to take the guy by surprise. His heart thudded heavily and adrenaline coursed through his system. This was the kind of thing that he lived for. Yes, he’d give up the excitement and danger for Will, but it was even better that he could have both in his life. At least for a little while longer.
As he reached a corner, the sound of footsteps grew louder as the guard approached. Charlie popped out just before the man reached him. The guard halted in shock. He’d been lifting his phone to his ear but stopped halfway up. Charlie adjusted his aim and put a bullet through the phone in case the man had been calling in some kind of trouble and then put one into his forehead.
“Problem eliminated,” Charlie growled.
“Soren just entered the house. Hold position.”
Charlie dropped into a shadowy niche within the hallway so that he wasn’t directly in the line of sight if someone else were to come through the hall. He glanced at the shiny wood floor and the ever-expanding pool of blood. He probably should have felt some kind of remorse for ending the lives of the two security agents who worked for Perez, but he couldn’t summon any up. His mind just kept replaying the image of Will running down the block as gunshots were fired at his back.
If one of those men had been a better marksman, if he had gotten there just seconds later, Will would be dead right now. That idea silenced any feelings of doubt or regret he might have suffered. No, Benicio Perez took this to deadly levels first. Charlie wasn’t going to feel any regret because he was better at playing this game.
Barely a minute later, a soft pop echoed through the hall.
“Security is down,” Soren murmured.
“Good. We—” Charlie’s words were cut off by a loud gunshot from the second floor. The only ones who were supposed to be up there were Alexei and Catalina Perez, and Alexei’s gun was equipped with a suppressor just like the rest of them.
“Alexei!” Soren screamed. Charlie flinched as his voice filled his ear and echoed through the house.
“I’m fine!” Alexei called, speaking in a normal voice. “I’m fine!”
