CHAPTER 3 – THE LITTLE GIRL ON THE HIT LIST
CHAPTER 3 – THE LITTLE GIRL ON THE HIT LIST
The first scream came from the grand staircase.
The second came from a gunshot.
Then the Sterling Court Hotel dissolved into chaos.
Crystal chandeliers swayed overhead as guests pushed through one another, desperate to reach the exits. Smoke poured from the upper corridors, setting off sprinklers that turned polished marble floors into mirrors of panic.
Maeve dropped to one knee and pulled Piper into her arms.
"Listen to me," she whispered, forcing calm into her voice. "Whatever happens, you do not let go of my hand."
Piper nodded, though her small fingers were already trembling.
Across the room, the two men in black suits had formed a defensive position.
"They're coming through the west corridor!" one shouted into his radio.
Only static answered.
The communications had been jammed.
That wasn't an attack of opportunity.
It was a military operation.
Three floors above, Finley slammed Rowan's wheelchair behind a marble pillar as bullets shattered the hallway windows.
Glass exploded across the carpet.
A gunman appeared from the smoke.
Before he could fire again, Finley drew his pistol.
Two controlled shots.
The attacker collapsed without another sound.
"Move!" Finley barked.
Rowan's face remained expressionless.
"How many?"
"Too many."
They rounded another corner.
Four of Rowan's personal guards lay motionless near the elevator.
Each had been shot once.
Professional.
Fast.
Whoever planned tonight had inside knowledge of every security rotation.
"They knew exactly where we'd be," Finley muttered.
Rowan's eyes hardened.
"They didn't break into my birthday."
"They were invited."
Elsewhere in the hotel...
Garrett Hale stepped out of a service elevator wearing a tailored charcoal suit.
He carried no weapon.
He didn't need to.
Half the armed men in the building now worked for him.
A captain approached.
"Rowan escaped the dining room."
Garrett smiled faintly.
"He always survives the first attempt."
"What about the waitress?"
Garrett stopped walking.
"The child?"
The captain nodded.
"Our people saw the little girl sitting beside him."
Garrett's smile disappeared.
"No witnesses."
"They're only civilians."
Garrett looked at him as though he'd spoken nonsense.
"Not anymore."
He adjusted his cufflinks.
"If Rowan showed kindness to that child..."
"...then eventually he'll protect her."
"And anything Rowan protects becomes leverage."
His voice turned cold.
"Find them."
Maeve had never run so fast in her life.
She and Piper followed one of the bodyguards through a maze of employee corridors.
The hotel echoed with alarms, gunfire, and breaking glass.
"What is happening?" Maeve cried.
"No time."
"Who are these people?"
"You'll understand later."
"I don't want to understand!"
The guard stopped so abruptly that Maeve nearly collided with him.
Two armed men stepped into the hallway ahead.
Neither wore hotel uniforms.
Neither hesitated.
The first man raised his rifle.
The bodyguard shoved Maeve and Piper behind a laundry cart.
"Stay down!"
Gunfire erupted.
The narrow hallway became deafening.
Metal carts overturned.
Linen exploded into the air like snow.
The bodyguard fired until his pistol clicked empty.
One attacker fell.
The second kept advancing.
Before he could pull the trigger—
A silver serving tray spun through the air and struck him across the face.
He staggered.
Maeve didn't think.
She grabbed Piper and ran.
Five minutes later...
Rowan reached the hotel's underground parking garage.
His remaining security team had been reduced from twelve men to four.
Finley shoved open the armored SUV.
"We have to leave."
Rowan didn't move.
"No."
Finley stared.
"They're expecting us to run."
"So?"
"If I disappear tonight..."
"...Boston wakes up believing I'm already dead."
Another explosion shook the ceiling.
Concrete dust rained onto the vehicles.
Finley clenched his jaw.
"You'll be dead for real if we stay."
Rowan's eyes narrowed.
"The waitress."
"What?"
"The woman and her daughter."
Finley frowned.
"This isn't the time."
"It is exactly the time."
"They're targets now."
Finley fell silent.
He knew Rowan was right.
The little girl had been photographed.
Seen.
Remembered.
Anyone investigating tonight would discover she had been the only guest at Rowan Hale's birthday.
That alone was enough to sign her death warrant.
Maeve burst into the underground garage from a stairwell.
She nearly collapsed from exhaustion.
Piper clung tightly to her hand.
The surviving bodyguard looked around desperately.
"They're gone..."
A voice echoed through the darkness.
"No."
Rowan emerged from behind a concrete pillar in his wheelchair.
"You found them."
Maeve froze.
For a heartbeat, no one spoke.
Then Rowan noticed the blood on Maeve's sleeve.
"Are you hurt?"
She looked down.
The blood wasn't hers.
She didn't know whose it was.
"I... I don't know."
Piper suddenly broke free and ran toward Rowan.
"Uncle Rowan!"
Maeve's heart stopped.
"Piper!"
Before anyone could react—
A red laser dot appeared on Piper's small chest.
Finley's eyes widened.
"SNIPER!"
Everything happened at once.
Rowan lunged forward instinctively, grabbing Piper's arm.
His wheelchair tipped sideways.
The rifle fired.
The bullet missed Piper by inches.
Instead, it struck the armored SUV behind them, showering sparks across the garage.
Finley returned fire toward the rooftop opening.
The sniper vanished.
Silence followed.
Rowan lay on the concrete floor beside his overturned wheelchair, shielding Piper beneath his own body.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Maeve ran to her daughter, sobbing with relief.
Piper looked up at Rowan.
"You saved me."
Rowan said nothing.
Because he had done something impossible.
Without thinking.
Without calculation.
May you like
He had thrown himself toward danger...
Even though he could not feel his own legs.
CHAPTER 4 – A DEBT WRITTEN IN BLOOD
