She narrowed her eyes as she tried to determine if he was still breathing or if he was dead.
Movement caught her eye. She spotted the still-alive assailant whip his gun toward her, firing.
She smashed herself against the cold, tile floor, narrowly avoiding the spray of bullets. The gun slipped from her hand, rattling across the floor just out of her reach.
Her heart raced as she watched the gun skid away. She glanced at the gunman, who steadily advanced on her.
There was no way she’d reach the gun before he fired. Would the bullet kill her, or merely wound her?
Either way, she wasn’t eager to find out. But she couldn’t give up. She had to fight back.
She reached for the gun, immediately pulling her hand back as bullets chewed up the floor in front of it.
She cursed under her breath as another several bullets came closer to her. She rolled away, landing on her back.
Her muscles tensed, and she trembled all over as the man appeared in the doorway.
Despite the mask, she spotted his lips curl into a disdainful sneer as he slowly raised the weapon toward her. “Looks like you overestimated your value, princess.”
His finger tightened as his smile turned evil. “Say good night.”
A gunshot echoed through the room, making her gasp and tense up, eyes squeezed shut.
She trembled, struggling to breathe as her chest tightened with fear.
Slowly she opened her eyes and focused on the doorway. The gunman lay sprawled there, a bullet hole marring his black jacket.
Ava scrambled to her feet, her eyes trained on the man before they rose to who stood behind him, weapon still pointed straight ahead.
Her lower lip trembled as she kicked the automatic weapon away from the gunman and scooped her own gun.
“Ava,” Raven said as she held the gun in her trembling hand.
She stared at him for a moment, her fingers tight against the gun as fear still ricocheted through her. If she kept the weapon, could she force him to reveal his identity?
Raven’s head cocked to the side as she hesitated before she finally surrendered the weapon to him. He’d saved her life. And she’d honor his desire for secrecy for a little longer.
He grabbed the weapon from her, shoving it into his waistband as she stared down at the man sprawled at her feet.
She squatted next to him, pressing two fingers to his neck. “Dead.”
“Of course, Ava. I told you I would protect you.”
She arched an eyebrow as she tugged the mask from the assailant’s face. “And I told you I could draw them off. How is your little program going?”
“The transfer is nearly complete. Then it will erase all evidence.”
Ava studied the man’s face, not recognizing it before she tugged down his sleeve, spotting the tattoo on his wrist. “Board. A pawn.”
“Yes, of course,” Raven said with a nod. “Miranda is making moves against you, Ava. You need to watch your back.”
“Miranda?” Ava straightened, staring down at the man. “More like Sebastian Bancroft.”
“Miranda is operating alone after what happened at The Fortress.”
“What? Isn’t she worried about repercussions?”
He shook his head. “She’s going higher than the Bancrofts. To people who want to strip Alex of everything that stops him from giving up. That means removing you from the equation.” He poked a finger at her.
