Chapter 51: Crossfire
907 Words
Bonny’s POV
The stairwell erupted into violence.
Gunfire exploded below us in sharp bursts that echoed through concrete walls and rattled every nerve in my body.
Agents shouted commands.
People ducked behind railings and support beams.
Smoke burned my lungs.
And somewhere beneath all the chaos—
the building kept groaning like it wanted all of us dead.
Adrian pulled me lower behind the wall.
“Stay down.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
“You’re not supposed to.”
The answer came instantly.
Certain.
Like there had never been another possibility.
My chest tightened painfully.
---
Another burst of gunfire tore upward through the stairwell.
An agent fired back.
Sparks flew from metal railings.
Naledi flinched beside me.
Vivienne wrapped one arm protectively around her without even thinking.
Interesting.
The Moreau daughter learning softness in the middle of disaster.
Human beings were strange.
Thank God for that.
---
The investigator crouched near the front line.
“We have at least six shooters below!”
Vanessa looked up sharply.
“That’s not a cleanup crew.”
“No,” Adrian replied coldly. “That’s containment.”
The word settled heavily.
Containment.
Like we were contamination spreading through their perfect system.
---
Seth moved carefully beside the agents now, watching the lower stairwell.
He looked different.
Not polished.
Not controlled.
Just tired.
One of the agents handed him a spare firearm.
My stomach twisted immediately.
I remembered this man teaching me how to hold wine glasses properly for “high society events.”
And now he stood in a collapsing building holding a gun against the organization that raised him.
Life was insane.
---
Mara peeked around the wall briefly.
Then ducked back instantly.
“Oh they are definitely trying to kill us.”
Useful update.
“Can we not phrase it like that?” Vanessa muttered.
“How else should I phrase armed billionaires shooting at us in a burning tower?”
Fair point.
---
A loud metallic crash echoed somewhere below.
Then footsteps.
Fast.
Approaching.
Everyone tensed immediately.
Weapons raised.
The investigator shouted:
“Federal unit! Identify yourselves!”
No response.
Only footsteps.
Closer.
Then three armed men appeared through the smoke.
Black tactical gear.
No identification.
No hesitation.
Gunfire exploded instantly.
The stairwell became chaos again.
Adrian shoved me tighter behind the concrete barrier as bullets sparked against walls.
I covered my head instinctively.
Naledi gasped beside me.
Vivienne crouched protectively in front of both of us now.
No calculation.
No strategy.
Just instinct.
That mattered.
---
The exchange lasted seconds.
It felt like hours.
Then silence fell suddenly.
One attacker collapsed near the stairs.
The others retreated downward into smoke.
The investigator cursed sharply.
“They’re buying time.”
“For what?” I asked.
Seth answered without looking at me.
“Evidence destruction.”
Vanessa went pale.
“The servers.”
Gabriel.
Sheila.
The board.
Of course.
If they couldn’t control the truth, they would erase it.
---
Adrian looked toward the lower levels.
“How far are we from the east exit?”
“Ten floors,” Vanessa replied.
“Can you still access security systems?”
“Barely.”
“Do it.”
She nodded and started typing furiously again.
---
My eyes drifted toward Seth.
He noticed immediately.
A strange silence passed between us despite the alarms.
Despite the smoke.
Despite everything.
“You really knew from the beginning,” I whispered.
Pain flickered across his face.
“Yes.”
The honesty hurt more now.
Not because I loved him.
Because once upon a time he had the chance to become someone better.
And failed.
---
“I hated you for a while,” he admitted quietly.
I blinked.
“What?”
“When they selected you.”
Confusion hit me instantly.
“Why?”
His laugh was bitter.
“Because you were supposed to fit perfectly.”
I stared at him.
“But I didn’t.”
“No,” he said softly.
“You fell in love with the wrong person.”
My breath caught.
Adrian looked over sharply at that.
Seth noticed.
Then smiled sadly.
“That’s the irony.”
---
Before I could answer—
another violent explosion rocked the building.
The entire stairwell lurched sideways.
Concrete cracked.
People screamed.
A massive section of railing tore loose and crashed downward into darkness.
The floor beneath us split with a deafening crack.
“MOVE!” the investigator roared.
Everyone surged upward and sideways at once.
Too fast.
Too chaotic.
My foot slipped on water and debris.
For one terrifying second—
there was nothing beneath me.
I fell.
A scream tore from my throat as the broken edge collapsed under my weight.
Then—
A hand caught mine.
Hard.
Painfully hard.
I slammed against the broken concrete edge, dangling above open space and smoke-filled darkness.
My heart stopped.
Above me, Adrian lay flat against the cracked floor gripping my wrist with both hands.
“Bonny!”
Concrete crumbled beneath him.
Agents rushed forward.
Naledi screamed my name somewhere behind us.
And beside Adrian—
Seth grabbed his arm to keep him from sliding over with me.
The three of us froze there.
Balanced between life and death.
Smoke curling upward around us.
The building shaking apart beneath us.
Adrian’s grip tightened painfully.
“I’ve got you.”
I believed him instantly.
Even hanging over empty space—
I believed him.
Then another crack split through the floor.
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