Chapter 48 - Blood on the Marble
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The sound of the guard's knee shattering echoed loudly in the private corridor. He screamed, dropping to the floor and clutching his leg. I didn't hesitate. I ripped the suppressed heavy-caliber pistol from his shoulder holster, chambered a round, and shot the elevator control panel, ensuring no reinforcements could easily follow me down.
I was completely cut off.
I sprinted back toward the VIP lounge, my bare feet slapping against the cold marble—I had abandoned my ruined heels. I needed to get my comms back online, which meant I had to destroy Julian’s signal jammer.
Two more of Julian’s men rounded the corner, raising compact submachine guns. I dove behind a heavy mahogany bar, bullets tearing through the expensive liquor bottles above my head and raining glass down on my shoulders.
I popped up from the side, firing twice in rapid succession. Both men dropped, their body armor failing against the heavy rounds I had stolen.
I vaulted over the bar, scanning the room. Julian was gone, having retreated during the initial scuffle, but on the glass coffee table sat a sleek, black metallic box with three blinking antennas. The jammer.
I raised my pistol and fired a single round directly into the center of the box. It exploded in a shower of sparks and smoke.
Instantly, the static in my earpiece cleared.
"...Elena! Elena, do you copy?!" Audrey’s voice was frantic, accompanied by the deafening sound of automatic gunfire in the background.
"I'm here!" I yelled, reloading my weapon as alarms began blaring throughout the casino. "Audrey, what is your status? Do they have Nicolás?"
"They breached the upper tunnels!" Audrey shouted over the gunfire. "I triggered the automated defenses, but there are too many of them! We are falling back to the secondary panic room, but the blast doors won't hold forever!"
"Hold them off!" I screamed, sprinting toward the fire escape stairs. "Do not let them take him! I am on my way!"
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"You're in Monaco, Elena!" Audrey cried. "You're twelve hours away!"
"Just keep him alive!" I commanded. I kicked open the fire exit doors, stepping out into the cool night air overlooking the cliffside. I needed a plane, and I needed it ten minutes ago.
