Chapter 6 - Blood on the Snow
The world seemed to slow down to a fraction of its normal speed. Emma stared down the barrel of the silenced pistol, her mind flashing not to her own life, but to Anthony and Lucia waiting miles away in the fortified nursery, and to Gabriel, who had sworn to protect her.
Before the masked assassin could pull the trigger, a massive shadow lunged through the doorway from behind.
Viktor Vance slammed into the gunman like a freight train, sending them both crashing through the wooden drywall into the hallway. A muffled struggle ensued—the wet thud of fists meeting bone, a sharp gasp, and then silence.
Viktor emerged a second later, his knuckles bloodied, his face grim.
“We have to move, Mrs. Brooks. Now,” Viktor ordered, grabbing her arm and pulling her toward the rear fire escape that led down into the alleyway.
Bullets punched through the walls around them as two more gunmen appeared at the top of the stairs. Viktor drew his sidearm, firing three rapid, precise shots that dropped the lead attacker in his tracks, while using his own body to shield Emma.
“Keep moving! Don't look back!” Viktor shouted, shoving her out onto the icy metal grating of the fire escape.
They scrambled down the ladder into the freezing Astoria alleyway, where two black SUVs idled with their doors flung open. The drivers laid down suppressing fire toward the upper windows of the shop while Viktor shoved Emma into the backseat of the lead vehicle.
“Drive! Floor it!” Viktor roared at the driver as he dove into the passenger seat.
The SUV squealed its tires, fishtailing across the snow-covered asphalt and blasting out onto the main thoroughfare just as a second vehicle blocked the exit of the alley.
In the back seat, Emma pressed her hands against her chest, her breath coming in ragged gasps. Her hands were shaking violently.
“Who were they?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
Viktor turned around in his seat, his sharp eyes examining her for injuries. “Professionals. Not street muscle. They belong to a localized strike team. Which means someone inside our inner circle gave them our exact location and schedule.”
Emma’s stomach dropped. Julian.
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She remembered what Julian had said in the hallway, his veiled threats, and his frantic phone call about the hospital records. Julian knew she was a liability. He knew she had overheard his conversation about Isabella’s murder. And now, he was trying to eliminate her before she could tell Gabriel the truth.
“Viktor,” Emma said, her voice turning hard and resolute. “Take me back to the estate. Not to the nursery. Take me straight to Gabriel.”
