I Saved a Mafia Boss at 3 AM—Now His Hitman is Demanding I Become Their Secret Asset!

They bolted down the concrete emergency stairwell, the heavy fire doors slamming behind them on every floor.

"Where is Mercer?" Lily asked, panting as they descended past the third floor.

"He's securing the extraction point in the underground loading tunnel," Cole replied, checking the magazine of his Glock as they ran. "He overrode the security gates. The SUV is waiting."

"He shouldn't be driving," Lily gasped, her lungs burning. "He's bleeding internally."

"He's running on adrenaline and bourbon," Cole grunted. "Worry about yourself, Nurse Hayes."

They burst out of the stairwell into the basement level. The utility corridors here were a maze of exposed pipes, hissing steam valves, and flickering yellow bulbs. It smelled of industrial cleaner and rust.

Suddenly, a figure stepped out from behind a massive laundry cart, raising a handgun with trembling hands.

It was Vance.

"Stop!" Vance yelled, his voice cracking. Tears were streaming down his face. "I can't let you leave with that book, Lily! They told me they'll kill my family!"

Cole didn't even break stride. He raised his weapon, aiming directly at the supervisor's head.

"No!" Lily screamed, slapping Cole's arm upward just as he pulled the trigger.

The bullet sparked against the concrete ceiling, ricocheting loudly down the tunnel.

"Are you insane?!" Cole roared, shoving Lily behind him.

"He's a nurse, Cole! He's not a killer!" Lily shouted back. She stepped out from behind the enforcer, locking eyes with her boss. "Arthur, put the gun down. You don't even know how the safety works."

Vance’s hands shook violently. He looked at the gun, then at Lily, then at the black ledger in her arms.

"They're going to kill me, Lily," he sobbed.

"If you shoot us, they'll kill you anyway," she reasoned, her voice dropping to a calm, clinical tone—the exact voice she used to talk down delirious patients. "Drop the gun. Go to the police. Tell them Volkov threatened you. You're a victim here, Arthur. Act like one."

Vance hesitated. The heavy steel door at the far end of the tunnel suddenly shuddered under a massive impact. Volkov’s reinforcements were trying to breach the basement.

Vance dropped the gun. It clattered harmlessly onto the concrete. He turned and ran into the maze of laundry carts, disappearing into the shadows.