Chapter 16 - The Glass Shatters
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The explosive sound of shattering glass tore through the diner, accompanied by the deafening crack of suppressed gunfire.
“Get down!” Daniel roared, grabbing my shoulder and shoving me brutally beneath the heavy diner table.
I hit the sticky linoleum floor hard, instinctively curling my body to protect my pregnant belly. Screams erupted from the waitress as porcelain mugs and sugar dispensers exploded above us.
Fiona shrieked, diving under the table next to me, her hands covering her head.
“They tracked my phone!” Fiona sobbed hysterically. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”
Through the chaos, I saw the heavy boots of two men clad in black tactical gear stepping through the shattered window frames. They moved with terrifying, silent precision, sweeping the diner with weapons raised. Silas’s men had arrived.
“Mara, the back door!” Daniel shouted over the ringing in our ears.
Daniel grabbed the laptop, clutching the evidence to his chest. He grabbed my arm, hauling me to my feet. Adrenaline masked the sharp, pulling pain in my lower abdomen as we sprinted blindly toward the kitchen swinging doors.
Gunfire chewed through the vinyl booths behind us.
We burst into the kitchen. The terrified cooks had already fled out the emergency exit. We didn't stop. We burst out into the freezing, snow-covered alleyway behind the diner.
“My car is at the end of the block!” Daniel yelled, ushering Mara, Fiona, and me into the shadows.
We ran. I was thirty-two weeks pregnant, gasping for freezing air, my boots slipping on the icy pavement. The physical strain was agonizing, a deep, rhythmic cramping beginning to seize my lower back, but the sheer terror of the men behind us kept my legs moving.
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We piled into Daniel’s sedan just as the men burst out of the alleyway. Daniel slammed the car into drive, tearing away from the curb without turning the headlights on until we were three blocks away.
I collapsed against the back seat, panting heavily, my hands gripping my stomach as another sharp, biting cramp ripped through me.
