I push myself up from behind the desk and look around the destroyed room. Bullet holes pepper the walls. Bodies litter the floor. The portrait of Adrian above the fireplace has been torn apart by gunfire.
But Adrian himself is nowhere to be seen.
“There.” Tony points to a section of bookshelf that’s swung open like a door. “Hidden passage. He must have slipped out during the firefight.”
Boris curses and signals two of his men. “Denis, Anton, with me. The rest of you secure the building.”
They disappear through the hidden passage while Tony, and I follow close behind. The narrow corridor beyond leads to a set of stairs that descend into darkness. We move as quickly as caution allows with our weapons ready for an ambush that never comes.
The passage empties into a garage beneath the manor. Three vehicle bays, all of them empty.
“He had cars waiting.” Tony slams his fist against the wall. “Son of a bitch had an escape route already planned.”
Boris is already on his radio, barking orders. “All units, target has fled the estate. Repeat, Belmont is in the wind. Lock down all roads within a five-mile radius.”
I stand in the empty garage as something cold settles in my stomach. We had him. We were so close to ending this tonight, and he slipped through our fingers.
“How many escape routes does this place have?” I ask no one in particular.
“More than we knew about, apparently.” Boris lowers his radio with a grim look. “Our men are searching the grounds, but if he had vehicles staged down here, he’s probably already past our perimeter.”
Tony runs a hand through his hair. “What about the guards we captured? They might know where he’d go.”
“Worth a try.” Boris heads back toward the stairs. “But men like Belmont don’t share escape plans with hired muscle. He’ll have a dozen bolt-holes set up that nobody knows about.”
We return to the main floor to find Boris’s team has fully secured the estate. The surviving guards have been zip-tied and lined up in the foyer, and two of Boris’s men are going through Adrian’s study, collecting documents and electronics.
I watch them work and try to process what just happened. We came here expecting a confrontation. We got one. But Adrian’s escape means this isn’t over.
“He’ll regroup,” I quietly state. “Come at us again when we’re not expecting it.”
Tony stands beside me with his jaw set. “Then we find him first.”
“How? He could be anywhere by now.”
“He’s wounded.” Tony nods toward a smear of blood on the hidden passage entrance. “One of us must have clipped himduring the fight. He’ll need medical attention, which limits his options.”
“Unless he has a private doctor on standby. Which, knowing Adrian, he probably does.”
Boris rejoins us after finishing his sweep. “No sign of Belmont on the property. My men checked every building, every vehicle, every inch of the grounds. He’s gone.”
“What about the roads?”
“Nothing yet. If he had a helicopter waiting somewhere nearby, he could be in another country by nightfall.”
The thought makes my stomach turn. All this planning, all this risk, and Adrian is still out there. Still a threat to my family. Still obsessed with destroying everything I love.
“The captured guards,” I begin, “have you questioned them yet?”
“Sergei is starting now. But like I said, I doubt they know much.”
I head toward the foyer anyway, needing to do something besides stand around feeling helpless. The guards look up as I approach. Most of them avoid my eyes, but one meets my gaze, which is blazing with defiance.
I crouch down in front of him. “Where would Adrian go?”
“Fuck you.”
“Wrong answer.” I let him see the poker still in my hand. “Where would Adrian go?”
