The man grabbed Nari’s neck and lifted her, throwing her hard to the floor. Pain burst through her shoulder. Then he reached for her. “You’re coming with me,” he rasped, his voice hoarse. It was the same man who’d tried to take her before—she could tell by his size and the way he moved.
Opal rushed by her, swinging the crystal vase from the table. Blood poured from her arm, soaking her cream jacket. “You shot me, you asshole,” she hissed, hitting him in the side.
The man swiped the vase out of her hand and swung for her head.
Opal ducked and punched him in the groin. At the same moment Nari kicked his knee from flat on her back, turning him toward the wall. Then she jumped up and kicked him beneath the chin. His head flew back and he fell against the wall.
“Help!” Nari screamed as loudly as she could. Where was the security detail?
The man turned toward the window and Nari rushed in front of him to stop him.
Opal clutched her arm and dropped to her knees. “Nari?” Her voice sounded faint and her eyes widened in alarm. Then she pitched sideways.
Nari hesitated.
The man grabbed her again and pulled her toward the window. Nari executed a side kick and then broke his hold by twisting and letting gravity pull her down.
“We’re not done,” he rasped.
Running footsteps sounded along the hallway. The attacker swore and ran past her, diving through the broken window.
Nari rushed toward Opal and dropped to her knees, yanking off her jacket. “Hold on.” She pressed her jacket to the wound and the fabric was instantly soaked. “You’re losing too much blood.”
The door burst open and two men she didn’t recognize stood there. “Get an ambulance. Immediately,” she ordered, reaching under her shirt and ripping off her bra. She took the material and wound it around the top of Opal’s arm, trying to stem the blood.
Opal was deathly pale but held perfectly still. “Call DHS,” she whispered. “My phone is in my purse—speed dial number nine. Code word Rough Rock.”
Oh, yeah. Nari leapt for Opal’s purse and pulled out the phone, her hands slippery with blood. She speed-dialed nine, and somebody picked up without saying anything. “Rough Rock,” she said, urgently.
“Received,” a male voice responded, clicking off.
“You’ll be okay,” Nari said, panic sweeping her at the amount of blood coating the floor. Had the shooter hit an artery? No. The woman wouldn’t still be conscious in that case. “Just hold on.”
Sirens sounded, and suddenly the entire building was overrun with armed agents in suits. Opal faded in and out, coming to with her lips turning an alarming blue. “Status?” she asked one of the three agents flanking them as the paramedics arrived.
One man, bigger than the other two, stepped forward. His voice was low and his eyes alert. “The security detail is down, ma’am. They’re out but not dead, and we’ll transport them to the hospital right after you. We’re quietly shutting down the area to find the shooter and confiscating all CCTV in the area. We will find this man, ma’am. You have my word.”
Nari felt sick. She gulped down bile as her adrenaline ebbed.
Opal nodded. “We have to put a lid on this.”
“Yes, ma’am. No worries there.” The agent motioned behind Nari, and the paramedics rolled in the stretcher.
“Can I go with her?” Nari asked, removing her hands from the bloody bra to let the paramedics take over.
Opal groaned when they lifted her onto the gurney. “Yes. Please accompany me,” she gasped, blood dotting her lip, her smile wan. “This was a heck of an exit interview.”
“I know.” Nari scooted out of the way and allowed the head agent to help her up.
“Are you all right?” he asked, releasing her arm.
She nodded. “I’m fine.” Then she gave a quick description of the shooter, although he’d worn a mask. “I think it was the same guy who attacked me at my home, but I can’t guarantee it. He was the same size and moved similarly.” When Opal held out a hand Nari took it and ran along the hallway to the back of the ambulance beside the stretcher.
“Nari?” Opal whispered once the doors had been shut.
Nari leaned down, putting her ear to Opal’s mouth. “Yes?”
“When you can do so discreetly please call your father and let him know what has happened,” Opal whispered.
