The sound of the shattered glass was still ringing in Shino’s ears as she pressed Ai Hitomi flat against the Persian rug. The room, once a sanctuary of wealth, was now a kill zone. The rain began to lash inward through the jagged hole in the window, smelling of wet asphalt and ozone.
"Don't move," Shino hissed, her hand clamped firmly on the widow’s shoulder.
Ai didn't scream. Her breathing was fast and shallow, but her eyes remained focused—a predator recognizing another predator. "The glass is reinforced, double-paned laminate. Whoever fired that shot is using military-grade armor-piercing rounds."
"Glad you're a fan of ballistics," Shino grunted. She reached into her coat and drew her service pistol, a matte-black semi-auto that looked far too heavy for her slender wrist.
Another round tore through the mahogany desk, sending a spray of splinters into the air like wooden shrapnel. The shooter wasn't firing at random; they were tracking movement. Shino looked up. In the corners of the room, the high-end security sensors were blinking a steady, rhythmic red.
"They're using the house’s own system to find us," Shino realized. She looked at Ai, whose face was inches from the floor. "You have a master override? A kill switch for the internal network?"
"In the hallway. Behind the portrait of Roland’s father," Ai whispered, her gaze drifting to her dead husband slumped just feet away. "But we’ll have to cross twenty feet of open floor. We’ll be dead before we reach the door."
"Not if the lights go out." Shino aimed her weapon not at the window, but at the ornate crystal chandelier hanging in the center of the room.
Crack. Crack.
The heavy fixture groaned as the support chain snapped. It plummeted, smashing onto the mahogany desk and sending the room into a chaotic strobe of sparks and darkness. In the confusion, Shino grabbed Ai’s wrist—her skin was deathly cold—and bolted.
They scrambled into the hallway just as a third bullet pulverized the marble floor where Ai’s head had been. Shino didn't stop to breathe. She slammed Ai against the wall near the portrait. "Do it. Now!"
Ai’s fingers danced over a hidden keypad concealed behind the gilded frame of the canvas. With a heavy, mechanical clunk, the manor groaned. The humming of the servers in the walls died. The red "eyes" of the security cameras went dark. The house was finally blind.
"We need to get to the garage," Shino said, checking her magazine. Her ears were ringing from the gunfire in the enclosed space.
"The garage is on the other side of the estate," Ai replied, her voice regaining its icy composure even as her black silk dress was torn at the hem. "And if they’re outside, they’ll have the perimeter covered. Why are they trying to kill you, Detective? You just got here."
"Maybe because I found the residue on the glass," Shino said, her eyes scanning the dark corridor. "Or maybe because Roland wasn't the only target tonight. Maybe you’re the one they really want, and I’m just a witness that needs to be erased."
"I have no enemies," Ai said, her expression unreadable in the shadows.
"Everyone with a billion dollars has enemies, Ai. Don't play the innocent widow with me."
A heavy thud echoed from the foyer below. Then another. Boots. Heavy, tactical soles. The hitmen weren't waiting for a clean shot from the distance anymore; they were coming inside to finish the job by hand.
Shino looked at the grand staircase, then back at the narrow, dark servant’s passage behind them.
"Change of plans," Shino whispered. "We aren't going to the garage. We’re going to the basement. The wine cellar has a ventilation shaft that leads out toward the cliffside."
"That’s a death trap," Ai protested.
"It’s a chance," Shino retorted, grabbing Ai again. "And right now, it’s the only one you’ve got. Stay behind me, keep your head down, and if I tell you to run—you don't look back."
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As they ducked into the shadows of the servant’s stairs, Shino felt a cold prickle on the back of her neck. This wasn't just a hit; it was a cleanup. And as she looked at Ai Hitomi’s calm, pale face in the moonlight, she wondered if the woman she was protecting was the victim... or the person who had handed the killers the keys.
ns216.73.216.141da2
and then Add to home screen.