Julian is in the passenger seat, an assault rifle resting across his lap. I am in the back, Katarina’s head resting on my lap. She is still unconscious from the sedatives the doctor gave her, and her right arm is strapped tight to her chest in a sling.
As we pull up to the private hangar’s entrance, the gates are already open. My Gulfstream is waiting, engines whining.
As soon as Gio stops the car, Julian jumps out to open the door to my right. I slide my arms under Katarina and lift her slowly, avoiding her injured shoulder.
Zip—Crack.
A bullet sparks off the pavement inches from my foot.
“Ambush!” Julian shouts.
“Trasi dintra!” Gio roars, ducking back behind the car’s armored door.
Two black SUVs come screeching around the corner with men hanging out the windows, pointing automatic rifles in our direction.
Julian and Gio open fire immediately, the sound turning deafening as bullets ping off the SUV.
I shove Katarina back onto the leather seat, covering her body with mine. She moans as the movement jostles her shoulder.
“Keep them back!” I yell as I draw my dual Glocks from my body holster and wait for a lull in the spray.
Now.
I step out, using the heavy door as a shield. I take a breath and watch the world slow down.
Target. Squeeze.
Target. Squeeze.
I fire four times, and four men drop.
I don’t panic. I don’t spray. I aim, just like how I was trained.
As Gio and Julian suppress the second car, I take the opening. I grab Katarina from the seat, shielding her, and sprint for the jet stairs.
“Go! Go! Go!” Gio shouts as he runs to cover me.
I hit the airstairs, taking them two at a time. When I make it to the door, a male flight attendant grabs Katarina from my arms and brings her to safety. I turn back, firing three more rounds to cover Gio and Julian as they run for the plane.
When the door finally seals shut with a pneumatic hiss, Gio shouts at the cockpit, “Let’s go!”
The engines roar as the plane starts to move before anyone is even buckled in.
I go to see Katarina, who has been taken to the private bedroom at the back, and find that a nurse is already tending to her.
“Keep her under,” I tell the nurse. “I don’t want her to wake up in pain.”
When I step back to the cabin where the rest are, my hands are still numb from adrenaline. I take off my jacket and take the seat across from Gio. To his right, I see Julian is sitting in a chair, panting. Beside him, he places a duffel bag on the floor. After a few minutes, something moves in the duffel, making me frown.
Then a puppy’s head pops out.
“What the hell is that?” I ask, and Gio and Julian’s heads snap in my direction.
“The guys found him at their apartment,” Julian says, wiping sweat from his forehead. “Figured Katarina will want to see it.”
I stare at the puppy chewing on the zipper, struggling to get out and shake my head.
“Unbelievable.”
