I exhaled loudly, glancing at James, who was making sure no one was coming after us. As I circled around the cars, I wondered what I should do with them. They were all black and looked brand new, so I figured taking them with us would be too much of a risk since they might have tracking devices or some other sort of protection on them. Instead, I pulled out my pocketknife and flipped it open, then slashed across the tires. If anyone survived and wanted to run or come after us, I wouldn’t want to make that easy for them.

“We should get out of here,” James said, and I nodded. From here, we couldn’t see what was going on outside, so I pocketed my knife and we broke into a run.

No one came our way as we raced through the hallway, and once we emerged, I spotted my men still firing at someone just around the corner. Either the men who’d been guarding the drugs had tried to run or someone new had arrived.

“We should get back to our cars,” I said, just as the police sirens sounded from somewhere, not too close to here but definitely approaching. Shit. Luckily, the path to our cars was clear since everyone was on the other side fighting the Desaltis. I was sure Oswald—I could see him in the distance—would soon order them to pull back. We couldn’t afford a run-in with the cops. But just as I was about to reach the cars, I realized James was no longer behind me.

I stopped, wondering what had slowed him down, but then I spotted him running toward the enemy. What the hell was he doing? The sirens were now very, very close, and Oswald was already waving for everyone to pull back. It looked like our enemy was withdrawing too. No one was too excited about the prospect of dealing with the cops. But James went past my men and rushed after someone.

“Ma’am, we need to go,” someone said behind my back, but I gritted my teeth, wishing James would just turn back. Was he trying to get himself killed? Despite my better judgment, I broke into a run and went after him. Some of my men followed me, and they were probably wondering what the hell had gotten into me. But we didn’t have much time, and I wasn’t about to let James escape or do whatever the hell he was trying to do.

Did he want the cops to arrest him? But he couldn’t possibly think that would do him any good. In fact, that would be the last thing he’d need since so many people had known his father and might still hold a grudge against his family. Besides, he was also a traitor to the Ezzatis’ men.

“James!” I yelled when I was sure he could hear me. “We have to go!”