A

ors of Le Bernardi

glass and metal framing rain

hrough the ruined entrance. He pumped the action of a 12-gauge sho

ained down lik

oom. Diners threw themselves onto the floor, knoc

incts hijacked her ne

anked her hard to the ground, pulling her b

s voice muffled by the mask. "Wallets

anding frozen near the center

knees buckled. She collapsed onto the floo

s around Jace's leg

head snapped t

g the heavy barrel of the shotgun and

s heart hammered against his ribs so hard it felt like it

on the trigger. He was going

illa saw the angle. She s

But she was a soldier. She could not w

lver serving tray from a

ut from behi

outed at the to

bee. It spun through the air and crash

e shotgun blasted into the ceili

e shotgun, ejecting the spent shell, and

ately dove forward, sprinting toward the heavy

eeded

dge of the table, the gu

t the edge. If he just grabbed her wrist, he could pu

He saw the gun pointi

e, Jace's survival instinct clashed

Carolyn cryin

reach for

h of his hands up and shoved Cilla's shoulders as hard as he could, clearing a path for himself. He u

alance. She stumbled backward, com

A

otgun

in tore through the outs

ny buckling her knees instantly. The force knocked her completely off balance, sending her

the sleeve of her blazer, dripp

arm. She gritted her teeth

y lifted

behind the table. His arms wer

t Cilla, his chest heaving

the line of fire to s

. The hands that had just

t it was nothing compared to the absolut

tachment, every ounce of humanity she had ever fe

ent comple

riage w