“Are they trying to trap us in here?” The stairs had a secret door that wasn’t easily visible on the first floor, and I didn’t think they knew about it, unless... “What if Brent told them about our security system or if they hacked the info out of his phone?”

Meg shook her head. “There wasn’t anything on the phone, and when Brent used the one they gave him to contact them, they couldn’t get into my files. I’m sure of it. I don’t think he told them anything about this place if he planned to keep you in here and rule instead of you.”

“You’re right.”

Another explosion shook us, and the lights blinked.

“Is there any way they can get down here?” James asked. I realized he’d been studying the layout of the hideout on one of the computers.

“Well, not really.” Meg scratched the back of her head. “No, wait. I think there might be a way, but then they would need enough explosives to form a hole in the door of the elevator, then lower themselves down the rope, and go bomb yet another door, but I...”

A bomb went off again, and it sounded like it had exploded in the same area.

“They clearly have enough explosives,” James said. “We need to get out of here.”

“Get out?” Meg stared at him wide-eyed. “But we have men to defend us here. The assassins can’t go through all of them. They can’t, right? Maybe they’re here for that drug because they know we have it or maybe they want to do as much damage as possible. I sent out a call for backup, so anyone who’s free right now should be rushing here.”

“Arianna,” James said, his eyes boring into mine. “I think they’re here for you and won’t stop until they get to you. You need to leave this place. I doubt they’re after the drugs. I think it’s all about you.”

“But how would they even know she’s here?” Meg asked.

“We weren’t watching out for these assassins, were we?” I said. “They might’ve followed me on my way home or used that drone you mentioned.”

“No, we weren’t. They’re not even from around here,” Meg said. “I knew I should’ve set up some kind of an alert, but we’re already trying to track so many people, it’s just... This city isn’t exactly empty, you know, so we can’t monitor everyone.”

“It’s okay. It’s not your fault this happened. Are they close to breaching the elevator door?”

“Not yet. Our systems aren’t detecting any major damage,” she said.

“But if they saw you, then why not attack you on your way here?” Felipe asked.