Karolina didn’t so much as blink.“Let me take care of Conor Murphy for you.There’s no love lost between us, I can assure you.”
Shocked by her apparent turnaround, the ambassador seemed incapable of rational speech.With a huff, he waved his gun about, as if uncertain who to shoot first.Taking advantage of his indecision, Karolina’s only thought was to save Conor.She lunged and grabbed hold of her father’s wrist.Slamming the gun to one side, she disarmed him.Maybe she should have shot him, but that would dump her in the same sewer as her father.It was more important to execute the rest of her plan.
The two men stared at her in bemusement.She would have liked to let Conor know that her behavior was aimed at getting them both out of the building in one piece, but it was safer for him if she carried on the charade a little longer.“When you leave here,” she said, leveling her gun on both men, “you can do as you please and so can I.”
“You expect me to believe that?”the ambassador scoffed, nursing his damaged arm.
“I don’t care what you believe,” Karolina informed him.“As for that succession planning that’s so close to your heart?Allow me to introduce your successor, your daughter, Karolina.”
Karolina’s mock bow stabbed through Conor like a knife.Was she serious?The thought that she could be cut from the same cloth as the ambassador hit him harder on a personal level than he could possibly have expected.Pride in his work had been everything before he met Karolina.And now?Pride in his work was still everything, but Karolina was right up there too.Had he misjudged her?Was he the fool?
Jerking her chin in her father’s direction, she ordered the venal toad to accompany her with an unwavering stare.“As for you,” she informed him coldly without an iota of softness in her tone.“You stay here.”
Not a chance.
Launching himself across the cellar, he knocked the gun out of Karolina’s hand.Locking an arm around her waist, he dragged her out of the cellar.But not before she’d kicked the gun through the door in the direction they were heading.
Slamming the door as Karolina reached down to pick up the gun, he then ushered her up the stairs and into the hallway, which was once again brightly lit.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”he demanded.
“Diversionary tactics.The first principal of undercover work.”
“I don’t know what books you’ve been reading, but don’t ever do that again.”
“Level a gun at you?”
“Take such a risk.”
“I had to distract my father somehow to save you, so whatever it took,” she said as he pushed her on across the hallway.The iron screens had lifted.Was that a trap too?The sooner they were out of here, the sooner he could relax.
A single gunshot silenced them both.He looked at Karolina.“D’you think—”
“My father shot himself?”she supplied with a humorless laugh.“I think we should get out of here fast.Self-preservation is his middle name.I’m guessing today was the closest he’s ever come to doing any of the dirty work himself.”
Removing a spare magazine from his leg holster, he handed it over.“In case you need it.Now’s your chance to shoot me,” he added with an ironic look.
“As I said, that was a distraction.I’ve got other plans for you—if we ever get out of here.”
“We’ll get out,” he promised.Shielding Karolina behind him, he started forward, aiming for the apparently unguarded front door.Gunfire blazed from all quarters.Slamming Karolina to the floor, he covered her with his body.
“You’re hit,” she exclaimed.
“A scratch,” he growled, pushing her ahead of him.In his peripheral vision, he was aware of the ambassador directing his troops.As Karolina had so accurately described, her father preferred to issue orders from the safety of a rearguard position.
“You could take him out now,” Karolina hissed.“Or, I’ll do it.”
“No.”He didn’t doubt she would.It was entirely possible that the same security guard who had been such an excellent instructor trainer in self-defense had also trained Karolina up to be a crack shot, but getting her out of here in one piece was more important to him right now than settling scores.
A side room provided the answer.It looked like some sort of antechamber where those awaiting an audience with the ambassador could hang with coffee and a magazine.He guessed a secretary would sit behind the mahogany desk, directing the proceedings.Springing up, he stood on the desk to snap the catch holding a heavy sash window in place.
“Jump,” he told Karolina.“Now!”
She didn’t hesitate.Leaping out into what must have been a six-foot drop, she landed lightly on her feet.Conor landed moments after and urged her across the naked divide between the embassy and a twelve-foot stone wall.With searchlights flooding the area and harsh shouts ringing in her ears, she used him as a climbing frame to spring up and over the wall.He quickly followed, and grabbing hold of her hand, pulled her along as he shouted “Duck!”when a hail of bullets followed them to the Kawasaki.
“How do you stand it?”Karolina demanded when she climbed off his bike in front of his London home.The stately street with its expensive houses was a world away from the danger they’d faced.
“Being shot at?”
