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“Mine’s the roasted beetroot salad with halloumi and pomegranate glaze.” Grant’s assistant with the tightly pulled back blond hair didn’t even look up from her laptop. The third assistant didn’t say a thing as he remained absorbed with whatever he was doing.
Even with that bastard ordering her around like a servant, Callista was beautifully composed. Her mouth twitched as if she might tell Grant to stuff it, and I was silently cheering her on.
She didn’t even get a chance to move before Van snarled. “You need to have some fucking respect, Senator. Apologize to Callista before I rip out your black tongue.”
“Sergeant Cole!” Talis snapped, glaring at Van. Oh fuck. He used Van’s title. That meant he was more than furious. “Go into the hallway. Now.”
“Like I’m going to fucking stand back and allow this asshat to walk all over her!” Van hissed through clenched teeth.
I folded my arms and stood beside Van. There was no way I was going to allow Grant’s treatment of Callista to continue. “Sorry, General. I agree with Van. Grant is a bloody twat, and Callista deserves much better than that.”
Callista stared at us with a stunned look. Tears shimmered at the corners of her eyes. Was she upset with us? Were we scaring her? My hands itched to reach out for her, to assure her it would all be okay.
That’s when everything went to shit.
The two ‘nurses’ who’d pushed in the cart drew guns out of the food bags. Talis and I were the first to see this, and we threw ourselves at the women.
The assassin Talis had tackled shot, and the spray of bullets went wide, hitting the assistant in the far corner in the head and the female with the tight bun thrice in the torso. She screamed and toppled over.
A bullet smacked right in my gut, knocking the wind out of me. My bulletproof vest kept it from killing me, and I wrestled with the assassin before she smashed me on the side of the head with the butt end of her weapon and kicked me off of her.
Callista. Where was she?
Van barreled into the assassin who kicked me and slammed her against the wall. More shots rang out. My vision blurred. I needed to focus.
Screams and shouts. Two more of our guards burst into the room, and one started shooting. He was shot and fell into the other guy.
Callista.
Then I smelled her sweet jasmine scent and her hands grabbed me under one arm. “I have you,” she whispered in a shaky voice, and my head cleared. Her arms and dress were splattered with blood, and I saw red for a second, but then realized it wasn’t hers.
Another round of shots went off. I covered her body with mine. She trembled and clung to me. I could feel her heart racing. I had to get her out. I needed her to be safe.
Glancing over my shoulder, I spied Talis who had yanked Grant off the bed and pulled the mattress over him. Pools of blood surrounded him from the fallen assistants. All three of them were dead.
Van fought with one of the assassins. Neither of them had a gun, but they traded kicks and punches. The female was much smaller than him, but she was clearly a master in the martial arts.
The other assassin laid still on the floor.
Holding Callista to me, I rose to my feet with her. “We need to get out of here.” She slipped in some blood and I steadied her. “Don’t worry, sweetling. I’ve got you.”
Smith, the other guard who was still standing, grabbed Tennant by the arms and dragged him out of the room into the corridor just as a tall doctor with a shaved head stepped in.
“Move out of the way!” I shouted at him as I made for the door.
His sharp gaze turned to me, and I knew in that second he was no bloody doctor.
“Shit!” There was no time to get out of his way. All I could do was put my body in front of Callista.
His hand rose to reveal a taser. This was going to fucking hurt.
Chapter Fourteen
“Levi!” I screamed. I refused to let him die. I dove down and hooked my arms under his. He stared up at me with utter shock, gasping for air. But there was no wet gurgling. No blood at all. Thank God he had a bulletproof vest on. “I have you.”
His eyes dilated as he focused on me. I nearly wept again.
I barely heard the next set of shots ring out as Levi twisted and shielded me with his body. The coppery tang of blood overwhelmed the smell of the food. Staring at the floor, it was everywhere. Like the floodgates of hell had opened.
