The gunfire started before Adrian could pull Valentina behind cover.
“Down!” he barked, pushing her behind a marble pillar just as bullets cracked through the ornate office doors.
She didn’t flinch. She never did. Instead, she met his eyes with that same fire he’d come to recognize not just anger, but purpose. The kind born from loss. From betrayal. From the ghosts they were both tired of carrying.
“They’re flanking,” she said.
“I know.”
She tossed him a fresh clip, then reloaded hers without breaking focus. “How many?”
“Five... maybe six. One at the far hall with a rifle. The rest closing in fast.”
Valentina nodded. “We need that drive.”
Adrian’s gaze shifted to the steel drawer they hadn’t opened yet probably locked, possibly rigged, definitely important.
“I’ll cover,” he said.
