What a mess, Adam thought in disgust as he slid on a belt and secured his blade in its sheath at his hip. He plucked his car keys off the dresser and shoved them into his pocket. The Organization had grown soft-witted in his absence. Four men hadn’t been enough to kill him since he had been a novice.
Beside him, Rachel trembled. He quickly assessed her mental state. She looked shaken, but not yet panicked, which was good.
He moved to her side and adjusted her hood, making sure it hid most of her face. He hoped it wasn’t a useless precaution. The Organization might already know her identity, but he wouldn’t take any more chances. After giving her a last once-over, he took her hand, guiding her around the bodies on the landing, and then down the stairs.
“Stay here,” he ordered. He wanted to get her gym bag. Her skirt and boots would be a hindrance as they fled, and he wanted her to change out of them.
Using the shadows to help cloak his movements, Adam inched closer. He knew he was at a disadvantage due to being silhouetted by the lights in the loft but turning them off was not an option. To do so would alert those waiting outside something was amiss. The Organization was a trigger-happy bunch. Any indication he survived the initial attack would invite a rain of bullets from the reinforcements guaranteed to be posted on the perimeter.
He’d only gone a few steps down the hall when a bullet shattered the window and embedded itself in the wall next to his head. Adam quickly retreated toward Rachel and stopped in front of her. “Can’t go that way. We will leave through the basement.”
“Basement?”
“Yes, basement. But we have to climb to get there.”
“Climb?”
Rachel’s one-word questions used as replies was worrying. If she’s going to lose it, Adam thought, I just hope it’s after I get her out of here safely.
Shielding her view so she didn’t see the second set of bodies, he led her to one of his many secret passages. This one happened to be in the side of building B in his obstacle course. Pointing to the wall with the hand-holds built into the bricks, he ordered her to climb.
Her voice was wispy and confused when she asked, “We have to climb to get to the basement?”
“Yes, climb, like you did in class. Now go to the top balcony. I’ll be right behind you.”
Rachel gave him an annoyed look but didn’t argue. Which was good because Adam didn’t have the time or patience to entertain her twenty questions.
While she scaled the wall, Adam continued to scan the room. Although he didn’t expect the Org to send in a second team—they weren’t stupid… usually—he wouldn’t put it past them to try again now that they knew he hadn’t succumbed to their initial barrage.
“I’m here,” her soft, sweet, voice called down to him.
“Coming,” he replied, and immediately scaled the wall, joining her a few seconds later.
Once on the balcony, he entered the passcode to unlock the door and pushed it open, revealing a spiral staircase.
“I thought it was a prop door. A fake,” Rachel said. Her breath heated his shoulder through his shirts and he had a momentary pang of regret for having their night interrupted.
“That’s the point,” he replied and indicated she should start down the steps.
They hustled down three stories into the studio’s basement. A small, dirty window provided the only source of light, and Adam strode toward it. He had tested this escape before and although it would be a tight fit for himself, he knew Rachel would be fine since she was smaller.
He popped out the window, grabbed an exposed pipe in front of it, and slipped his body out through the window, feet first. He poked his head back inside and offered Rachel his hand. She took it and he pulled her into the alleyway with him.
Her balance secured, he guided her into the shadows and surveyed his surroundings. From where they stood, he could see his car. He knew it had to be under surveillance; the Org—despite their misplaced optimism earlier regarding the four men in his studio—would have his mode of transportation watched. Yet, the car was their fastest mean of escape and he had other people to protect. “We need to head to Zach’s.”
“Zach’s? Why? What does he have to do with this?”
Adam shook his head. No time to explain Zach’s involvement or how Zach, even with all his training, was no Hashashin and would hesitate to kill even if his life depended on it. Adam knew the teen needed him.
Hopefully, it wasn't too late.
After rescuing Zach, Adam would take them both back to the Order’s downtown office. Once there, Rachel would have some measure of safety.
Regretfully, she had seen too much, and now he was bound by the rules which required him to bring her in. Safety without the Order’s protection was non-existent, and he expected a negative reaction to the news. Especially when she found out she was a permanent “guest” of his society.
Not to mention, Darius would be pissed.
Why, oh why, couldn’t he have left her alone? Porn-hub would have been a better choice than destroying her life by pulling her into his world.
He turned his head slightly to check on her. She stood, pressed against his back, with a scared but defiant expression.
“Listen,” he whispered. “We will try to get to my car. It will be under surveillance.” He felt her tense. If he had been alone, he would have hunted and disposed of the threat…
Who was he trying to kid? If he’d been alone, none of this would have happened.
“I will go first. Wait for my signal; when I raise my right hand, I want you to sprint directly to the passenger side and get in.”
She nodded and gulped. “You’ll be careful, right?” she whispered back.
He smiled at her and pat her hand currently fisting his shirt. “Always.”
Locking his gaze on hers, Adam waited until he felt certain she would not panic. Once confident in his assessment, he loosened her grip, adjusted his hood, and moved forward, his shoulders hunched, and his head bent low. It wouldn’t fool anyone for long, but it might give him a second or two to act before they started firing.
Keeping the fire escape between him and the other side of the alley, he inched forward. He was nearly into the open when he glanced back and found Rachel had followed him. Adam gestured furiously for her to return to the relative safety of her hiding spot. Her expression turned stubborn, and she sprinted the last twenty-five feet separating them.
“What are you doing?” he hissed, exasperated she disobeyed his order. This was why he liked to work alone.
“I heard a noise,” she whispered back. “Gravel crunching.”
She didn’t need to explain further for him to understand. She’d heard footsteps and acted. Adam grabbed her wrist, and she tensed. They would have to sprint the remaining distance.
Before he could act, two things happened in quick succession. First, four low pops rang in the night air, and the unmistakable hiss of escaping air followed. The Org had shot out his tires. At the same time as the gunshots, someone yelled, “There he is! Stop, Hashashin!”
As if...
He tugged on Rachel's arm and pointed at the fire escape. He leapt, grabbed the ladder with both hands, and yanked it down with his weight. He pushed her toward it while he focused on the two men running toward them. The fact their pursuers hadn’t fired a single shot in their direction nag at him.
“Up!” Adam barked, splitting his attention between the advancing men, Rachel’s progress, and the reason behind the Org’s restraint. When she reached the first landing, he yelled to her to keep going, before finally starting up the ladder himself. The answer dawned on him as she disappeared up the next level. They want her alive. But why?
When he joined her on the roof, he saw there was no protective cover anywhere, not even an HVAC unit. Debating his options, Adam immediately discounted a return to street level. The Organization might not care about bystanders, but the Order certainly did, and bringing the fight to the ground introduced the chance of witnesses. That left jumping to the next building.
Giving Rachel another once-over, he found himself thankful she’d spent the past two months training with him or else she’d never make it out of this in one piece.
“This way,” he said and pointed. She nodded and ran in the direction he indicated.
They reached the wall separating his warehouse from its taller neighbor and, doing a run-up, he launched himself to the roof one story above their position. He pulled himself up and over, leaning back down to grab Rachel’s hand.
From there, they made their way across a string of rooftops before they encountered a large gap between their current rooftop and the next. Adam skidded to a halt. Could she make the jump? Adam didn’t think so, but unfortunately, they didn’t have time to find another way to escape. They would have to risk it.
“Rachel?” he called, gaining her attention. “We have to jump. Remember, land on your toes, spread your momentum through a roll. And for obvious reasons, don’t land on your heels! Got it?” he asked. She gave him another small nod of understanding. Good girl. “Now. Jump.”
He saw her glance at him, and then back at the drop, before nodding again. She backed up.
After a running start, she launched herself into the air and off the roof. She landed hard and a little short, but she did as he’d taught and appeared to roll to her feet unharmed. He let go of the breath he’d been holding and quickly followed her.
Mid-jump, he saw one of the Org’s men top the roof ridge from the other side of the building heading toward Rachel. “Siciym Ya!” he swore in irritation.
He hit the roof hard, bouncing into a roll, and immediately came up running, freeing his blade from its sheath at his hip in the process. He wouldn’t make it in time. The man grabbed for Rachel before Adam could get there, but he’d forgotten she wasn’t completely defenseless.
Twisting her hips, Rachel dropped her weight to her knees and sent the agent flying over her shoulder and right into his path. Adam caught him as he fell, and they scuffled for a moment, before Adam found his opening and drove his blade through the man’s heart, and ending his life.
With one opponent down, Adam had a second to breathe and reassess the situation. He identified three more agents on the next rooftop over. In two strides, he was next to Rachel. “Run! Don’t look back. There’s a ladder on the other side leading to a parking garage. I’ll meet you there.”
Adam turned to face the new threat. “Go!” he ordered, over his shoulder. The sound of her footsteps retreating indicated she obeyed. Good. He’d be able to concentrate now. Just in time, too, for the first man landed in a roll and was immediately followed by a second man.
Now that Rachel wasn’t by his side, they had drawn their weapons. Adam charged the closer of the two and grabbed him by the throat before he could shoot. A quick jab of his blade into the man’s gun hand ended the first contest. Adam spun as the second attacker pulled the trigger and caught Adam’s hostage in the chest. Adam felt the bullet exit the man’s body and graze his skin. Warm blood welled and dripped down his side.
Another inch to the right and that might have ruined my evening.
He marched forward, keeping the wheezing, dying man in front of him. They’d gone only a few feet before the man in Adam’s grip became too much of a deadweight and had to be tossed aside.
The remaining attacker hesitated, fear and shock, plain in his expression. Not a career soldier, then, Adam thought and used that moment of confusion to lunge. A twist and a smack disarmed his opponent quickly, and then Adam dispatched him.
Looking around, Adam confirmed the third Org operative had fled.
Adam took a deep breath, curbing the impulse to give chase. The Order’s regulation stated that Adam needed to find the man and dispatch him before he could get away, but only if said mission didn’t jeopardize a civilian. For once, Adam didn’t chafe at letting an enemy live.
Much.
The danger hadn’t abated, and Rachel needed him.
Striding forward, Adam made his way to their rendezvous point, hoping she waited for him as he directed. He didn’t relish the idea of having to hunt for her. Lowering himself down the ladder, Adam felt a moment of relief at finding her there before the sensation fled at the sight of her on her hands and knees. Her skin had a pasty green color, and she looked like she was about to vomit.
He stepped toward her and she screamed.
Great. She’s panicking.
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