Chapter 6 - The Steel Trap
Ethan didn't confront Marcus immediately. He was a master tactician, and he knew that if Marcus was the mole, he was likely working for a much larger, more dangerous organization. Ethan needed to draw them out.
He ordered a decoy convoy to be prepped at the front gates, heavily armed and highly visible. Meanwhile, he led Elena and Noah down through the estate’s subterranean tunnels, a secret escape route built into the foundation of the mansion.
“Keep him close,” Ethan whispered to Elena as they moved through the damp, dimly lit concrete corridor. He handed her a compact, loaded firearm. “Do you know how to use this?”
Elena took the heavy metal in her hands. “My father taught me before he passed.”
“Good. If anyone comes through that door who isn't me, you shoot to kill,” Ethan said, his piercing eyes locking onto hers. The fierce protectiveness in his gaze made her breath catch.
They reached the hidden underground garage where a reinforced, bulletproof black SUV was waiting. As Ethan unlocked the doors, the concrete tunnel echoed with the screech of tires.
Two unmarked vans slammed into the garage, blocking the exit. The decoy convoy had been a ruse, but Marcus had anticipated the subterranean escape. Heavily armed mercenaries poured out of the vans.
“Get in the car! Get down!” Ethan roared.
Elena shoved Noah into the backseat and threw herself over him just as the garage erupted into deafening gunfire. Bullets sparked off the bulletproof glass of the SUV. Ethan didn't hide. He drew his weapon, moving with the lethal, trained precision of a man who had survived a war long before he became a billionaire. He fired with devastating accuracy, dropping three mercenaries before taking cover behind a concrete pillar.
Inside the car, Noah cried, burying his face in Elena’s chest. Elena’s heart hammered, but her brave, compassionate nature overrode her fear. She held him tight. “I’ve got you, Noah. I won't let them hurt you.”
Through the shattered window of a nearby car, Elena saw a mercenary flanking Ethan’s blind spot. Ethan was pinned down by suppressive fire and couldn't see the man creeping up behind the pillar.
Without thinking, Elena rolled down the reinforced window just a fraction, raised the firearm Ethan had given her, and pulled the trigger.
The loud crack echoed through the garage. The flanking mercenary dropped his weapon, clutching his shoulder, and fell to the ground. Ethan whipped his head around, seeing the smoking barrel in Elena’s trembling hands. A look of profound awe and deep respect flashed across his handsome face.
Ethan seized the opening, aggressively pushing forward and neutralizing the remaining threats. The garage fell silent, save for the hiss of a punctured radiator. Ethan ran to the SUV, throwing the door open. He checked Elena and Noah, his chest heaving.
“You saved my life,” Ethan said, his voice thick with adrenaline and something much deeper.
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“We’re even,” Elena breathed, her hands still shaking.
Ethan climbed into the driver's seat, slammed the SUV into gear, and smashed through the security barricade, driving them out into the blinding daylight.
