Chapter 3 - The Ballot and the Bullet"Stay behind me!" Damian ordered, his body acting as a human shield as he drew a sleek, matte-black firearm from an internal holster with practiced speed.
In the dim, chaotic flashes of emergency strobe lights, Emma watched Mateo and two other Moretti enforcers return fire toward the foyer. The sharp, deafening cracks of gunfire echoed off the ballroom's marble floors.
"This isn't an arrest," Emma yelled over the noise, clutching her ledger like a shield. "Vance isn't sending the police; he's wiping the board clean!"
"No shit, sweetheart," Damian muttered, firing two precise shots toward an intruder silhouetted in the smoke-filled doorway. The man dropped instantly. "Your boss signed your death warrant the moment he printed that PDF."
Emma’s chest heaved. She was a forensic accountant. Her weapon of choice was an Excel spreadsheet, not a Glock. Yet here she was, crouching behind a pillar in a clearance-rack dress, bleeding adrenaline and sharing cover with the most dangerous criminal in Illinois.
May you like
"If we stay here, we're fish in a barrel," Emma shouted, checking her purse. The encrypted drive was still safe inside. "The service elevator! Behind the kitchen doors. It leads down to the laundry loading dock."
Damian looked down at her, a strange flicker of respect crossing his dangerous eyes. "Lead the way, accountant. Let's see if your map-reading skills match your numbers."
