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The Godfather laughs as Ivy slowly stands. “No, you’re not. If she takes one more step, shoot her.”
My stomach sinks and Ivy freezes. For fuck’s sake, suddenly I feel like I’m caught in a goddamn Tarantino movie. It’s the climax and we’re at a Mexican standoff. And those never end well. Now it just takes one person to make a move and three guns are going to start firing.
I hesitate just long enough, unwilling to put Ivy in the middle of the firefight and needing a distraction, when the bodyguard beside the Godfather narrows his eyes at me and boldly pulls the trigger. It whizzes past my head and everything seems to start happening in slow motion and all at once.
“Get down!” I yell to Ivy, diving for cover, and aiming up at the rope holding the massive chandelier. After three successive shots, the rope starts fraying fast and the light fixture begins spinning.
The Godfather looks up to see the chandelier break free and ducks beneath the table right as it falls. The entire thing drops with a huge crash and glass crystals smash against the table and floor. I’m already halfway to Ivy, crunching through the glass, and I grab her arm and yank her up off the floor where she’s half-hidden under a table.
When the thugs lurch up from beneath their tables, we’re running back out the way I came in, moving fast around the pool. Gunshots pop through the air and I hustle right back to the emergency exit, expecting to run straight through the door and back into the hallway.
Except my plan goes up in smoke when I see there’s no door handle. There’s no way to get back into the hallway. “Fuck!” I hiss, quickly scanning the area.
“Eric?” Ivy’s voice trembles. “They’re coming.”
We’re trapped,I realize, grip tightening on my pistol.
Unless…
Stepping up to the glass wall, I look over the side and see exactly what I’m hoping for—a small ledge that leads around the perimeter of the building. It looks extremely narrow and I’m not looking forward to balancing on the side of this building, especially with my large feet, but as long as I can provide cover, Ivy should be able to make it around the corner.
“C’mere,” I say, grabbing her waist and lifting her up. “Over the wall and onto the ledge.”
“No!” She tries to hang onto me like a cat refusing to get into the bathtub, and I turn and fire off another shot at the quickly approaching bad guys.
“You’ll be okay,” I assure her. Reluctantly loosening her hold, she decides to trust me, and I lift her over the barrier and lower her. When her feet find the narrow ledge, she looks at me with wide eyes. “Follow the ledge until you’re around the corner. I’ll be right behind you.”
With a brave nod, chest pressed to the glass, she starts side-stepping down to where the glass ends and brick begins. Thank God the glass walls don’t keep going on this side or we’d be really fucked right about now.
Turning my attention back to the thugs, I fire off a few consecutive shots then throw my long leg over the glass wall and hang on with one hand while my booted feet find a decent hold on the ledge. Looking over, I see Ivy is making her way along the ledge a little too slowly.
“Pick it up, sweetness!” I yell and keep firing, continuing to provide cover for us. I’m going to run out of bullets before long and I can’t exactly change the mag with one hand, thirty-five stories above the ground while scaling the side of this building and trying not to fall or get shot.
Click.
Shit.Well, that sucks. No more bullets.
The good thing is Ivy made it around the corner safely. The bad thing is I just made the mistake of looking down. Clenching my teeth, ignoring the wave of dizziness that threatens, I carefully, but quickly slide my feet along the ledge, cheek pressed to the rough brick, and hope to God I have enough time to make it around the corner before the thugs notice I’m momentarily out of bullets.
Because right now I’m a sitting duck, hanging on the side of a building that’s way too damn high. As much as I like heights, one wrong step and I’m going to be a faded memory. A permanent stain on the sidewalk thirty-five stories below.
And that would really, really suck ass because I’ve got plans for me and the incredibly amazing woman who’s clinging to the side of this building like some kind of spider woman.
Chapter Fourteen: Ivy
Clinging to the side of a building after escaping a gun fight between a mobster’s henchmen and my friendly neighborhood Night Stalker is not exactly how I saw this meeting going.
As soon as I sat down with Mr. Vitello—that’s what his bodyguards called him—I knew I’d made a mistake. A really big one. The heavyset man in a crisply-pressed suit, with a heavy gold chain around his neck and rings on nearly every finger, looked like a character straight out of a mafia movie.
And the moment he opened his mouth to speak, I knew he was just as ruthless. A coldness emanated off him that told me I was dealing with a man who always got his way. No matter what.
I foolishly thought I might be able to bargain my way out of there because I had the power. I held the SD card. But Vitello quickly took control of the situation and I understood the only way I was leaving that restaurant was in a body bag. It was naive of me to believe I could be as badass as the women over at Slater Security. I’m sure if they were in this situation, they would’ve already handled it.
But I did it to protect Eric and Kennedy. And I don’t regret that. Not for one second.
Then Eric Finn, pilot extraordinaire, showed up by some miracle and caused a diversion so we could escape. From this point forward, he’s also going to be known in my book as my savior extraordinaire.
Right before I turn the building’s corner, I look back to see how Eric’s doing. He’s climbing over the glass wall, shooting his gun, and seems to be holding his own.Thank God.I didn’t want to drag him into this, put him in danger too, but that’s exactly what I’ve managed to do. I’m not exactly sure how he found me, but it’s a damn good thing.
