Chapter 10 - The Ambush
|
Billy yanked the door open and sprinted down the dimly lit corridor of the office building. Her heels clicked frantically against the polished floor, the sound echoing like a ticking clock.
"Get back here, you bitch!" the hitman roared, recovering quickly and giving chase.
Billy shoved through the heavy stairwell doors, plunging into the echoing concrete shaft. She didn't run down; she ran up, knowing the lobby security desk was likely already compromised if the hitman had made it to her floor.
She pulled her cell phone from her pocket as she climbed, her fingers shaking wildly. She didn't call 911. She hit the single speed-dial number Rafe had programmed into her phone months ago.
"Billy," Rafe answered on the first ring, his voice calm and anchoring.
"There's a man in my building," Billy gasped, her lungs burning as she took the stairs two at a time. "He has a gun. He said he’s a friend of Marco’s. He’s coming after me to send a message to you."
The silence on the line was microscopic, but instantly terrifying. The calm billionaire vanished, and the lethal mafia boss took over.
"Where are you?" Rafe demanded, his voice dropping into a dark, violent register.
"Stairwell B. Heading toward the roof," Billy panted.
"Keep moving. Do not stop," Rafe ordered, the sound of a heavy car engine roaring to life in the background. "I am three minutes away. If he breaches the roof door, stay behind the HVAC units. I will handle him."
Billy burst through the heavy metal door leading to the rooftop. The freezing November wind whipped her hair violently around her face. She sprinted across the gravel-covered roof, diving behind a massive, humming air conditioning unit, clutching her phone to her chest.
Seconds later, the stairwell door slammed open against the brick wall.
The hitman stepped out onto the roof, his gun raised, his face covered in blood from the paperweight strike.
"You can't run forever, little girl!" he shouted into the wind, walking slowly across the roof, hunting her in the dark.
May you like
Billy squeezed her eyes shut, terrified tears finally slipping down her cold cheeks. She had survived so much, only to die on a roof for a man she barely knew.
Suddenly, the deafening roar of helicopter blades shattered the night air.
