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“We need to go. Down to the tunnels.”
“What?” Laney asks, following me to the back of the cathedral and down the stairs. “Why are we using the tunnels? Evie doesn’t even know where half of these go!”
I’m in full mission mode, so I refuse to listen to her tone at the moment. All that matters is not letting anyone else get the advantage right now.
Fourteen fucking men.
“Havoc!”
“What?” I yell, whirling around on her. She has an arrow loaded and aimed right at me, but it slides barely an inch past my head and into the neck of a man waiting in the shadows.
My eyes widen as my heart rate kicks up a notch. I’m an assassin, I do not get fear induced tachycardia.What is happening to me right now? The assassin gods would be so disappointed.
I slap my face, needing to get my head in the game.
“Okay, I’m focused now.” I clear my train of thought and try to cram the sick feeling in the pit of my gut further down. This is a much more effective attempt than I thought anyone was capable of, but we aren’t going to get out of it alive if I keep getting distracted.
I clip my rifle to my back in favor of two handguns, both paired with flashlights on the top. Laney and Arrow load their bows, and we move around the wall of the staircase that leads to the north tunnel.
“I memorized the path for two of these when the wedding was held here in the event we would need an escape. These tunnels don’t just go in one direction, so stay close and don’t lose me.”
“Got it,” Laney says inches from my back.
“Let’s go,” Arrow says to my right.
We begin our way down the dark path, stepping carefully. The ground is made of stone and damp enough that one could easily slip.
Corner after corner, we turn until we’ve made it about a mile. This particular tunnel goes on for at least three miles, but there is an exit about three hundred yards ahead.
“Just a little further,” I tell them. Laney now has a hand on my back, and Arrow has a hand on her arm while walking backwards to watch our six.
A strange echo begins to vibrate off the walls just as a howl meets my ears. A howl that is way too fucking close.
“Run,” I order, pushing them ahead of me. “Two-hundred yards straight ahead to the right. There is a metal door there.”
Laney takes off in a sprint with us both on her heels. Panic races through me at the realization of what this means. They didn’t just have fourteen people, but they also brought a pack of animals with them, clearly trained for the hunt.
Who the fuck is Arrow’s mother? We’re supposed to be the scariest fuckers out there.
The sound of nails scraping against the stone reaches our ears, and I take a deep breath. There is no way in fuck I am going to kill a poor animal. They may be vicious little creatures but they didn’t choose this life.
I quickly pull the flash grenade from my back pockets. I only brought two, so hopefully it will be enough. We have about a hundred feet to go. As I pull the pin and toss one behind us, I call out to the others in warning.
“Flash bang in 5.”
We cover our ears, our feet pounding harder than they ever have.Four.I inhale a deep breath.Three.The door comes into view.Two.I squeeze my eyes shut.One. BANG!
Ringing builds in my ears as the sound reverberates around the stone tunnel. As the door comes into view, searing pain assaults my calf, and I fall to my knees.
Luckily, Laney turns around just in time, tossing her jacket over the dog’s head and pulling him off of me. Arrow helps me to my feet after we stumble through the door, slamming it shut behind us.
Inhaling both of their scents, I pull them close. My leg hurts like a bitch but they’re safe. That’s all that matters right now.
A throat in the room clears. I probably should have mentioned that the door led to an upscale bookstore on the edge of town. We glance around the fancy interior before looking down to my leg, which is crafting some very large crimson droplets on the white tile floor.
Pristine white bookshelves line the walls, and a large, spiral staircase leads up to a balcony where you can get coffee and read.
“Good to see you again, Mr. H,” a stuffy looking gentleman says at the base of the stairs, holding out a hand to me. “Do you require some assistance with your leg?”
