Chapter 2 - Blind Angles
Before Sarah could scream, Val moved on raw instinct, tackling her and Mia off the island as the triple-pane glass exploded inward in a shower of diamond shards. A muffled supersonic crack echoed across the manicured courtyard.
The estate erupted into chaos. Red emergency strobes washed the white marble walls in deep crimson, drowning the kitchen in an eerie, pulsing glow. Silas drew his sidearm, firing three blind rounds into the darkness past the shattered terrace, while Marco scrambled to drag the bulletproof iron shutters down over the breach.
Val shielded Mia beneath his heavy frame. The little girl buried her face into the crook of his neck, whimpering softly. Her tiny fingers clutched his collar, smearing warm blood from his grazing cut onto his crisp dark shirt. Val felt every beat of her fragile heart against his chest, a stark reminder of the single point of vulnerability he possessed on earth.
“Are you hit?” Sarah gasped from beneath him, her hands instinctively checking Mia’s fresh bandages.
“No,” Val rasped, his voice ragged with adrenaline. He stood, scooping Mia effortlessly into one arm while drawing a matte-black firearm with the other. “The shot came from the south guard tower. That post belongs to Declan.”
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Declan was Val’s second-in-command, a man who had sworn loyalty beside Val’s father two decades ago. Silas ran back inside, breathing heavily, his gun lowered. “Boss, the south tower is abandoned. Declan’s comms are dead, and the mainframe server room in the basement is burning.”
Val looked down at the puddle of shattered glass at his feet, then straight into Silas’s eyes. “He didn't run. He opened the gates.”
