Cibor looked up, indecision tightening his expression, torn between his need to stay with Jaclyn and keep her safe, and his hatred for Anthony which was urging him to continue this fight.
Christian shook his head. “Stay with Jaclyn. Keep Alon safe. I’ll handle Anthony.
Marc,” he said turning to his lieutenant.
“Sire?”
“We’re taking the BMW, and fuck the speed laws.”
Marc laughed grimly. “Music to my ears.”
NATALIE LISTENED at the door for a long time, before she was convinced that they were really gone this time. Walking over to the desk, she retrieved her gun, and slung her purse over her shoulder again. It seemed weirdly light without her laptop in it, and she wondered if they’d found the computer. Or if they’d even looked. But she set that aside with everything else. She had only one purpose—to get the hell out of there.
She tapped on the door experimentally, concentrating on the area around the lock to determine how far the metal plating extended. Hydra-Shok ammo was designed to destroy flesh by creating a shock wave as it passed through the body, expanding tissue and leaving permanent muscle, vascular, and nerve damage. It left a small hole going in, and a big one going out. She wasn’t sure how it would work on a wooden door, but she was sure it had enough punch to do some major damage. Her plan was to shoot out the wood all around the lock, then employ her best judo move and kick the lock right out of the door. Five shots should do it, but they’d also draw the attention of anyone nearby—why hadn’t Leighton included a damn suppressor with the gun?
Natalie stepped back. She’d have to be fast and accurate. She hadn’t fired a gun in a while, but she could still sure as hell hit a target from a foot away.
She took a minute to listen again at the door, then raised her gun, and her courage, and fired five shots in succession without stopping, her aim moving right around the lock. Her ears were ringing when she finally stepped back, and took a quick look at her work. The doors were sagging, the lock connected by the thinnest of raw wooden shards. Not wasting any time, she gave the lock a solid side kick and the doors popped open, the lock falling heavily to the carpeted floor.
Once in the outer room, she hurried directly to the hallway door, considering for the first time that it, too, might be locked. But luck was with her, and the knob turned easily in her hand. She opened it cautiously and peered out. So far, the corridor outside was empty, but she was pretty sure that wouldn’t last.
She ran for it. She had no strategy, no secret ninja powers of concealment. Her idea was to run as fast as she could, find a stairway, and make it to Jaclyn’s office on the second floor. Theoretically, that was Raphael’s territory, and she should be safe there, even if Jaclyn wasn’t in. The too-vivid memory of Jaclyn lying in a pool of her own blood flashed across the back of her eyes, and she nearly stumbled on the first step. Damn, she hoped they’d been telling her the truth about that, and that Jaclyn would recover.
She made it to the first floor. It was quiet, weirdly so. She peeked around the corner of the stairwell and found no one. This was odd. Apart from her own rather noisy escape, simple routine business usually kept this corridor busy. Something was definitely up. Maybe it was because Anthony was leaving. Maybe all of his people were off packing or doing whatever the hell they did for him when he traveled.
But then, she really didn’t give a fuck why. It was good for her and that was all that mattered. She burst into the hallway and ran for the main staircase to the upper floors. She was halfway up the first flight, when there was a shout and the sound of heavy footsteps pounding up behind her.
Natalie stuck her hand in her purse, reaching for her gun, but a hard arm circled her, pulling her back against a thick chest and trapping her arms at her sides.
“Got you, you little bitch,” an unrecognizable voice growled in her ear.
Natalie gave an angry shout, and jabbed her elbow into his gut. His grunt was satisfying, but it did nothing to loosen his hold on her.
“That wasn’t nice. I’d teach you better, but Anthony wouldn’t like that.” He squeezed her hard enough to hurt, and she gasped. “But then, people get hurt all the time by accident.”
“Is that was this is?” she managed to ask, her voice high and tight from the pressure he was putting on her. “An accident?”
“Close enough, bitch. Close enou—” His words became a grunt of surprise, and the next thing she knew she was covered in dust.
THE GATE AT Anthony’s estate had been wide open. No guards in sight.
Tires skidded on the perfect green grass as Marc pulled right up to the front porch and slammed the car into park.
Christian was out of the car before it stopped moving, If Natalie was in there, minutes could make a difference. By the time he reached the porch, Marc was right on his heels. But even as he ran, he registered the weird silence of the estate. No guards, no one walking around. Momentous events were at play, and no one was here to observe them. Did Anthony even know what had happened in Laredo? Or did he think his plan had worked, that Christian was dead and Hubert on his way to claim the South?
He slammed open the front door and heard a woman’s angry yell. Natalie? He turned in the direction of the cry, striding down the main hallway toward the center stairs, and there she was, being manhandled by some asshole.
Christian took the stairs in a single leap, still running on the high of Hubert’s death. He rammed his hand into the asshole’s back, smashed through his ribs, and crushed his heart. Natalie froze as the vampire’s dust covered her. She turned to face him, and he waited for her to react. It was pretty disgusting.
But she didn’t seem to notice the dust. Her face split into a huge smile and she threw herself into his arms. “You’re alive.”
Christian hugged her close. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Anthony said you were dead.”
“Anthony’s a traitor and a liar. Where is he?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. He locked me up in the basement, but I broke out—”