Chapter 2 - Blood on the Marble
I stared at Claire.
The quiet, unassuming woman who usually dusted the library was now tying a sophisticated tourniquet above Ava's knee.
"How do you know they're coming?" I demanded, keeping my weapon raised toward the broken glass.
"Because hit squads don't send one man to assassinate a cartel boss in his own fortress," she replied, not looking up. "He was the inside man. He disabled your cameras. The rest of the team is breached."
She tied off the suture with the speed of a combat medic.
"Emma, hand me the gauze," Claire instructed softly.
My youngest daughter, who hadn't spoken or interacted with anyone but me since her mother’s death, immediately handed over the white squares.
"Good girl," Claire whispered.
Ava let out a ragged breath. "Dad... Marcus shot me. He just walked in and shot me."
"I know, baby. I've got you." I moved to her side, my heart hammering against my ribs.
I looked at the deformed bullet sitting on the counter. It was a 9mm. Marcus's standard issue.
"Can she walk?" I asked Claire.
"With help. But we can't stay here," Claire said, stripping off her bloody gloves. "The safe room?"
"Compromised, if Marcus has the codes," I realized with a sick drop in my stomach.
"Then we use the servant's tunnels," she said.
May you like
I frowned. "There are no servant tunnels."
Claire finally looked at me, a ghost of a smirk on her lips. "Yes, there are. I found them three weeks ago. Let's move."
