There was a balcony, directly over the door we’d come through. Three more guards were there, firing down at us with assault rifles, the bullets chewing up carpet, furniture and books as they sprayed us, filling the air with splinters and shredded paper. I cried out as something slashed across my arm. I’d run in too fast, without checking the room, and now we were completely exposed.

Cal grabbed me and hauled me behind a desk in the corner of the room. There was barely room for the five of us to huddle there. We ducked down as bullets chewed away at the edges.

We were pinned down, with no way out.

75. Erin

75

ERIN

I clutched Danny teddy-bear tight, so tight it must have hurt, but he didn’t complain. He was breathing hard in my ear, whispering that it was okay now, each breath shaky with emotion. But I needed a different level of reassurance: I pressed my body as hard as I could against his, feeling every hard contour of him, filling my nostrils with his scent, until my soul accepted that he was really real, really alive, really there. Behind Danny, Kian was checking the other rooms of the suite, making sure we were alone. Then he relaxed a little and watched us, smiling.

At last, Danny reluctantly put me down, but he immediately cupped my cheek in one hand as if he couldn’t bear to fully break contact. He looked down at the bandages wrapped around my foot. Blood was soaking through them. Danny’s voice went so tight with anger that he could barely get the words out. “What did he…do to you?”

“I’ll be okay,” I told him. “He wants to be Chancellor. That’s why he’s selling the bomb, he’s going to bribe and blackmail his way to running the country.”

Kian and Danny both grimaced. “It’s okay,” said Kian. “JD and the others are getting the bomb.”

“We’re getting you out of here,” Danny told me. “Can you walk?” He was already stooping to pick me up again, ready to carry me.

I nodded quickly. I could limp along and he needed to be able to hold his gun.

Danny went first, with me right behind him, a hand on his back, and Kian watching our rear. We spiraled down the stairs and Danny led us through the castle’s ornate hallways. For the first few minutes, it was quiet. Then we heard gunfire from behind a set of wooden doors. We all looked at each other. If the guards were fighting someone, it had to be the team.

Danny gestured for us to stay back, then crept to the door and silently cracked it open a half inch so he could peek. He crept back to us, his face grim. “It’s the others. They’re pinned down, downstairs.”