Page 78 of Sanctuary

We round a corner, heading toward the center of the building, and I realize the front section of this floor breaks into a mezzanine with a railing looking down on the entrance lobby and across to a wall of tall windows. A grand staircase leads down in the middle.

In its day, the hotel must have been beautiful and impressive, showcasing the scenic mountain view. As it is, the abrupt shift into the wide, airy space after the enclosures of the halls and stairs is startling and disorienting.

There’s a lot of fighting in the lobby beneath us. I recognize Maria ducking and shooting with a few others behind the large built-in reception desk and there are some others scattered around, backed into nooks and corners, fighting with guns and knives and fists all over the first floor. Far outnumbered by the hostiles.

They’re about to lose this ground, and we can’t afford to let it happen.

Half of us start shooting from the upper railing while the rest charge down to assist our outnumbered allies. I stay next to Cole on the mezzanine. Aiming and firing as accurately as I can despite the intense fear pulsing in my ears and my eyeballs and the perspiration that’s causing my gun to slip in my hand.

I’ve already had to reload twice. I’m going to run out of ammunition soon.

Aidan has moved into the most vulnerable position, covering the others near a large pillar as they head one by one down the stairs. I hate to see him so exposed, but he’s oblivious to the danger. He’s shooting with two different guns now and is an equally good shot with both hands.

It’s way too loud. Too chaotic. The air smells like blood and sweat, and it makes me sick. I can still see Gail’s body as the door closed awkwardly on it. I can still see the shattered bone and the brain matter from the gaping wound in Mark’s skull.

I shouldn’t be doing this.

There’s no way in hell I should be here at all.

I’m not a soldier or a warrior or marksman. I’m a girl who never had the chance to finish high school. Who loved to run long-distance at track meets and who liked shopping and movies with her friends.

Gradually, most of the others have gotten downstairs so that our forces are more evenly matched. We’re not enough to overpower the bad guys though. Not unless we get really lucky.

Even I can see that.

Cole and I are still at the rail of the mezzanine, shooting down from our vantage point. Because of the danger we’ve posed, most of the fighting has moved beneath us so we can no longer target the enemy.

We’re about to head downstairs too when a bullet fires from behind us. Cole jerks slightly and whirls around. Blood stains the fabric of his right shirt sleeve as he aims in the direction of the side hallway we came from.

It happens so fast it’s a blur. Cole moves in front of me, blocking me with his body. Then he kicks over a decorative side table with a granite top and pushes me down to crouch with him on the floor, using the tabletop as a shield.

A bunch of guys must of have come up the side stairwell and gotten to us from behind. We’re completely exposed to them now, protected only by the tabletop.

And Cole is shot.

“Get out of here,” he bites out, holding his rifle above the edge of the table and firing blindly. “Down the stairs. I’ll cover you.”

“I’m not leaving you here alone like a sitting duck!” I’m practically screaming at him. Not in anger but to be heard. And also in frantic fear.

“You have to!” There’s an intensified rain of bullets coming toward us, and we both duck down even farther. The granite slab on the table is thick but it’s getting chipped away pretty quickly. It’s not going to last much longer. “Breanna, go! If you stay, Del will lose both of us. And there’s no way in hell we can do that to her!”

I strangle on sob. Know he’s right. That losing both me and Cole at the same time will destroy Del and that we both love her too much to let it happen. “Then you go! She needs you. I’ll stay and cover you.”

“You can’t! I can hold them off. You can’t. Go! Tell her—” He starts to say something else but chokes on it. “She already knows. Just take care of her. For me.”

I’m sobbing now, almost blinded by tears. I really don’t think I can live through this moment. Don’t think I can make my body move. I try to do what he says though. I shift in the direction of the central staircase.

Suddenly, I see Aidan crouched behind that thick pillar at the top of the steps. He’s firing toward the guys in the hallway the way Cole is. He waves toward me, summoning me to come to him.

I do. I move instinctively. Without thinking. I keep low and rush toward the pillar. A bullet comes so close it ruffles my hair, but it doesn’t hit me. With both Cole and Aidan firing now, the bad guys can’t get in a position to aim carefully.

In a few seconds, Aidan is dragging me down behind the pillar with him. He keeps shooting in the general direction of his targets with one hand while he wraps the other arm around me.

I sob against his shirt, imagining how I’ll ever tell Del that Cole is dead.

“Love, you need to get downstairs. He doesn’t want you to die.”

“I know.” It takes some sort of inhuman effort, but I manage to control my crying. I sniff and wipe my face with my sleeves. “I’ll go now. You come too. Cole said he can hold them off.”

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