Chapter 5: The Midnight Siege
Time slowed to a crawl.
The realization that Marcus—the man Adrian had trusted with his life and his home for five years—was a mole for a Russian syndicate hit like a physical blow. But Adrian didn't freeze.
Bang!
Marcus fired, the suppressed weapon making a deadly thwip sound.
The bullet shattered the heavy crystal lamp on Adrian's desk, raining glass across the leather blotter just as Adrian threw himself sideways out of his chair.
"Get down!" Adrian roared, pulling the Glock from his drawer as he fell.
Natalie shrieked and dove behind the heavy leather sofa. Margaret remained frozen in her chair, paralyzed by the sheer terror of the gun in Marcus’s hand.
Adrian hit the floor hard, rolling onto his shoulder, and brought the Glock up. He fired blindly over the desk. The deafening roar of the unsuppressed 9mm echoed like a cannon blast in the enclosed room, the muzzle flash illuminating the dark study.
The shot went wide, splintering the wooden doorframe inches from Marcus’s head.
Marcus ducked back into the hallway, seeking cover. "You can't get out, Adrian!" he yelled from the corridor. "The rest of my team is outside. The perimeter is locked. Just make it easy on yourself!"
Adrian scrambled to his feet, keeping his head low, and rushed to Margaret. He grabbed his mother by the arm and unceremoniously yanked her out of the chair, dragging her behind the massive oak desk.
"Adrian, my god, my god," Margaret babbled, hyperventilating. "He's going to kill us."
"Not today," Adrian snarled. He looked over at Natalie, who was curled into a ball behind the sofa, trembling violently. "Natalie! Are you hit?"
"N-no!" she stammered.
Adrian assessed the situation. He had a handgun with twelve rounds. Marcus had a suppressed weapon and backup. The entire estate's security system was controlled by the very men who were now trying to kill him.
He needed an equalizer. He needed the police.
He pulled out his cell phone. No signal.
"They're using a localized jammer," Adrian muttered, his jaw clenched. "Of course they are."
"What do we do?" Natalie cried out.
"We don't stay here," Adrian said. He crawled toward the back wall of the study, where a heavy bookshelf stretched from floor to ceiling. He pressed his hand against the side of the third shelf and pulled hard.
The bookshelf swung inward on hidden hinges, revealing a dark, narrow passageway.
Margaret gasped. "A servant's passage? In this house? When did you build this?"
"I didn't. The original owners did during Prohibition," Adrian said grimly. "I discovered it when we renovated. It leads down to the basement, near the boiler room. We can get out through the storm doors."
"What about Emma and Rachel?" Natalie asked, her eyes widening in horror. "You sent them to the security pavilion! Marcus's men have them!"
Adrian felt a sickening jolt in his stomach. The four-year-old girl who had started this avalanche was sitting right in the center of the enemy camp.
He couldn't leave them.
"You and Mother go down the passage," Adrian commanded, shoving Margaret toward the dark opening. "Follow the stairs all the way down. Don't turn on any lights. When you hit the basement, unbolt the storm doors and run for the tree line. Keep running until you hit the highway and flag down a car."
"Adrian, you can't fight them alone!" Margaret pleaded, gripping his sleeve. "Please, son, come with us!"
"I'm not leaving a little girl to be murdered by cartel hitmen because my brother is a coward!" Adrian barked, ripping his arm away. "Go!"
Footsteps echoed in the hallway outside the study. Marcus wasn't alone anymore. He had brought backup.
"Breach it," a rough voice ordered from the corridor.
"Go! Now!" Adrian pushed Natalie and his mother into the secret passage and slammed the bookshelf shut just as the heavy oak doors of the study were kicked open.
Three men rushed into the room, sweeping their weapons across the empty space.
Adrian didn't wait for them to find him. He had taken cover behind a heavy marble pillar near the fireplace. He leaned out and fired twice.
Bang! Bang!
One of the security guards crumpled to the floor with a scream, clutching his thigh.
Marcus returned fire, bullets chewing up the drywall and showering Adrian with plaster dust.
May you like
"He's pinned!" Marcus shouted. "Flank him!"
Adrian knew he couldn't hold the room. He needed to move. He scanned the shadows, realizing the only way out was forward, through the chaos, and into the belly of the beast. The night had just begun, and before the sun rose, the Westwood estate would burn to the ground if that's what it took to get the truth.
