Chapter 15 Sanctuary Of Ash

• Gunfire turned the office into a hailstorm of splinters and dust. Valentina stood in the center, leather-bound ledger in one hand, pistol in the other. Sparks flew each time her shots slammed into the door frame, echoing like thunder in the cramped space.
• Behind her, Dante fired blind into the hallway—one-handed, fierce. Every muzzle flash illuminated his bloodied face, the wound on his chest seeping crimson through his shirt. Camila pressed herself against the wall, rifle trained on the doorway. Lucia crouched by the safe, tearing pages from the ledger and stuffing them into her jacket.
• The first wave of attackers staggered through the door, three masked men, rifles raised. Valentina squeezed the trigger, and the nearest one collapsed in a spray of wood chips. Dante swept the second aside with a precise shot. Camila dropped the third with a headshot. Silence swallowed the room for a heartbeat.