Chapter 24 - Ambush in the Dark
The windshield cracked into a spiderweb of fracture lines as the butt of a tactical rifle slammed down onto the glass.
“Get down!” Adrian roared, shoving my head toward the floorboard while simultaneously drawing his suppressed pistol from his shoulder holster.
The side window exploded inward, showering the cabin with glittering shards of safety glass. A gloved hand reached through the empty frame, fingers clawing blindly toward the door lock.
Adrian didn’t hesitate. He fired twice through the torn window frame. A muffled grunt echoed from outside, followed by the heavy thud of a body sliding off the hood of the car and hitting the muddy gravel.
“Mommy! I’m scared!” Emma screamed, sobbing uncontrollably as Oliver pulled her down into the footwell, shielding her with his small body.
“Stay down, kids! Cover your ears!” I shouted, drawing my own weapon—the Glock Adrian had given me back in Queens—and pointing it toward the shattered window.
Suddenly, the darkness around the car erupted into blinding white light as two heavy-duty floodlights mounted on an all-terrain vehicle flashed on, illuminating the clearing like a stadium stage. Four men in unmarked tactical gear, faces concealed behind black balaclavas, advanced from the tree line with assault rifles raised.
“Moretti! Drop the weapon and step out of the vehicle!” a harsh voice bellowed through a megaphone. “The woman comes with us!”
Adrian glanced at me, his eyes burning with an intense, calculated fury. He popped the driver’s side door handle. “When I step out, count to ten, put the car in reverse, and don’t look back.”
“Adrian, no!”
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“Do it, Sophia!” he shouted, pushing his door open and rolling out into the mud just as a hail of automatic gunfire chewed into the side panel of the sedan.
Sparks flew, metal shrieked, and the night air filled with the deafening roar of war.
