Chapter 6 - Glass and Gunfire
Selene ran back into the guest room, grabbed a half-conscious Ivy, and dragged her toward the library. The penthouse echoed with the muffled, suppressed thump-thump-thump of automatic weapon fire outside in the main foyer.
The luxury of the high-rise had devolved into a warzone in seconds.
Selene pressed the hidden release button on the library wall, and a heavy steel panel disguised as a bookshelf slid open. She shoved Ivy inside, but before she could enter herself, a heavy boot kicked open the double doors of the library.
A masked mercenary clad in black body armor burst into the room, raising a short-barreled assault rifle.
"Target acquired!" the man yelled into his shoulder radio, aiming straight at Selene. "Female doctor secured—"
Before he could finish the sentence, Damen appeared behind him like a phantom. In one fluid, terrifying motion, Damen grabbed the soldier's rifle barrel, twisted it upward, and slammed his tactical knife directly into the mercenary's neck seam. Blood sprayed across the mahogany shelves as the man collapsed.
Damen grabbed Selene by the waist and hauled her into the safe room, hitting the internal close button. The heavy steel door slammed shut, sealing them inside absolute darkness just as a hail of bullets riddled the outer wall.
The safe room was illuminated a second later by soft emergency lighting.
Selene was breathless, her chest heaving, her hands covered in the soldier's blood from where Damen had grabbed her. She looked at Damen, who was breathing heavily, a thin line of red trickling down his cheek from a glass shard scrape.
"Are you hit?" Selene asked instinctively, her doctor's instincts overruling her terror. She stepped close to him, reaching up to examine his face.
Damen caught her wrist, holding it over his heart. She could feel the heavy, powerful beat against his chest.
"I’m fine," Damen murmured, staring down into her eyes. The proximity in the small, enclosed safe room was suffocating. "You didn't run into the room when you had the chance. You waited."
"I... I wanted to make sure you were behind me," Selene whispered, her voice trembling.
"Why?" Damen asked, stepping closer, pinning her gently against the steel wall. "I'm a monster, remember? A criminal mob boss."
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"You saved my life," Selene said, searching his intense gray eyes. "Twice."
Damen looked down at her lips, his breath warm against her face. For a moment, the heavy tension of gunfire outside faded into absolute insignificance. He leaned in, his lips hovering an inch from hers, before a heavy blast shook the safe room door from the outside.
