Now she forced herself to keep her eyes closed,feigning unconsciousness as someone worked the first lock. She clutched the screw tightly in her right hand, curled close to her body so it was hidden.
The second lock disengaged with a quiet click and the door creaked open.
A pause, the rustle of the bag being thrown onto the floor, footsteps rushing toward her.
The man cursed, muttering something unintelligible. She kept her eyes closed when she felt his hands on her wrists, then her shoulders.
His breath was warm on her face when she lunged.
She’d primed herself to shoot for his eye, expecting it to be difficult, to go against every instinct. But she hadn’t given herself enough credit. She was fighting for her life. This might be the only chance she had.
She lashed out with her right arm, the screw still held tightly in her fingers, and aimed for one of his eyes.
At first she didn’t know if she’d hit the mark. He let out a growl, his hand coming up to cover half of his face, concealing his eye.
Had she aimed true? Or had she gotten his face instead?
She didn’t have time to find out. She took advantage of his shock and shoved him with all her strength.
He toppled back toward the bathtub, his free arm reaching out for her as she sprang to her feet.
She slipped on the blood on the floor, regained her footing, and ran for the door, the man’s shouts following her out of the room.
She crossed the threshold into a dark, narrow hall and looked both ways, trying to get an idea where she was, which way offered the best chance of escape. She’d decided to try left when a deafening crash rolled down the hallway, followed by the sound of splintering wood and the shouts of men from a room not too far away.
She was still trying to figure out what it all meant when the first round of gunfire rang through the building.
She ran.
Nick kicked in the door, then used his foot to splinter the remaining wood out of the way. He stepped through the doorframe and looked aroundto get his bearings as gunfire echoed from the front of the house.
Ronan had obviously made his entrance.
Nick headed for the long, dark hall that opened off the kitchen, recalling the infrared drone footage to mark the way to the bathroom.
To Alexa.
More gunfire sounded from the house, closer now, and Nick hurried down the hall, kicking in doors as he went, resenting the delay they caused in getting him to Alexa but knowing he needed to clear the rooms at his back before he went any deeper into the house.
The first two were empty except for mattresses on the floor with rumpled sheets, clothes strewn across the room, but when he kicked in the third a shadow loomed in the darkness. He retreated, flattening himself against the hall and waiting for the other man’s gunfire to stop before raising his own weapon and stepping back through the door.
He held the trigger, spraying the room with bullets, barely aware of the figure that dropped to the floor.
Alexa was waiting. He didn’t have time for precision.
He stepped over the body, clad in boxers and adingy white tank top, and cleared the closet, then headed back down the hall. The sound of splintering wood and broken glass sounded from an area of the apartment he thought was the living room, and another round of gunfire was exchanged as he approached the door to the bathroom.
He wasn’t worried about Ronan. They’d come prepared with Kevlar, night-vision goggles, and plenty of weapons. If the guy in the room he’d just left was any indication, they’d caught the men in the apartment mostly unaware, probably getting ready for a quiet night of playing cards and drinking.
His older brother could take care of himself, and barring a surprise on the ground floor, Declan should be arriving as backup any second.
Nick’s heart beat faster as he reached the bathroom door. He’d expected to find it locked, but it was open, a short, stocky man staggering to get to his feet. Nick’s heart almost stopped when he saw the blood slicking the floor.
Was it Alexa’s?
He looked around and didn’t see any sign of her. The man getting to his feet was bleeding from one of his eyes. Nick raised his weapon.
“Where is she?”