Chapter 7 - The Trap in the Rain
Before Adrian could formulate a counter-strategy, a dull, heavy thud echoed through the floorboards of the safehouse, followed instantly by the sharp, metallic crack of suppressed gunfire from the front courtyard.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
The iron shutters over the study windows groaned as heavy rounds slammed against the reinforced steel outside.
"Down!" Adrian roared, launching himself across the desk, tackling me to the floor, shielding my body with his own as dust and plaster rained down from the ceiling.
The safehouse alarms blared—a deep, rhythmic red strobe light illuminating the dark room.
Adrian pulled his radio from his belt. "Nolan! Report!"
Static hissed over the speaker, followed by Nolan's breathless, strained voice. "We've got heavy contact! Multiple shooters coming through the pine ridge! They've breached the outer gate!"
"Who's leading them?" Adrian demanded, pulling me to my feet and rushing toward the back escape corridor.
"It's Julian, Boss!" Nolan yelled over the sound of automatic gunfire. "He brought twenty men from the Canadian border syndicate! He knew the coordinates of this cabin!"
Adrian's jaw set hard. Julian hadn't just tracked us; he had used one of our own inside team members to get the GPS coordinates of this off-grid safehouse.
"Carter or Eli," I gasped as we sprinted down the narrow concrete hallway toward the underground garage. "One of them sold us out to Julian!"
"It doesn't matter who," Adrian gritted out, reaching the heavy steel door of the subterranean garage. He punched in the manual release code. "Once we're through this door, anyone who isn't you is an enemy."
The heavy door slid open, revealing the dark, concrete bunker beneath the cabin where a armored matte-black SUV sat waiting.
Standing beside the driver's side door, holding a silenced submachine gun, was Eli Vance.
The young driver didn't point the gun at us immediately. His face was pale, tears mixing with the sweat on his forehead.
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"Eli," Adrian said, stepping in front of me, his hand resting on his pistol holster. "You've been with my family since you were sixteen."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Vale," Eli sobbed, his hands shaking as he raised the weapon. "Julian... Julian has my sister. He took her three days ago! He said if I didn't give him the coordinates to your safehouse tonight, he'd send her back to me in a box!"
