Chapter 33
NASH
We hurried down the stairs. Once we got outside, Georgie ditched her fur coat on a chair on the terrace. Her gun was tucked back in her bag.
I pressed the phone to my ear, and a second later Bastian answered.
“Bruno’s been eliminated,” I clipped. “He got a warning off to Snyder.”
Bastian cursed.
Georgie and I moved into the crowd of partygoers. The music was louder and more people were dancing.
“Where’s Snyder?”
“He was in a pool cabana, cavorting with three women,” Bastian replied.
My lip curled. I kept Georgie close as we moved toward the pool. The cabanas were on the other side to us.
A second later, there was a giant boom. Georgie jerked beside me. Fireworks filled the sky overhead.
Everyone looked up, the crowd oohing. Multicolored sparks filled the night sky. More booms followed, more explosions of light.
I didn’t watch the fireworks. I scanned the pool and saw someone else wasn’t watching the display either. Snyder was hurrying out of one of the cabanas, his phone clutched in his hand.
Georgie and I watched him. He must have sensed us because he stopped and lifted his head. His gaze locked on us.
Then he turned and was swallowed up by the throng of people.
“Bastian, he’s on the move.”
“Wait, I’ll get Theo to access the cameras.” There was a pause. “Got him. Theo says Snyder is heading to the far end of the house. He slipped into a side door.”
I tugged Georgie along the pool. The crowd ahhed as the fireworks continued and no one paid any attention to us. We moved along the outside of the house and ahead, I spotted a door ajar.
Inside, we found ourselves in a wine cellar. The large space was filled with backlit, built-in shelving filled with dozens and dozens of bottles of wine. I heard the sound of a door closing and spun.
“Stay behind me,” I warned Georgie.
We moved down a short hall, then I yanked open a door.
We stepped into a well-equipped gym. There were weight racks, exercise machines, and mirrors on the walls.
And Snyder sprinting through it.
“Snyder!” Georgie yelled.
He looked back, then pulled a gun from under his jacket. He fired.
I leaped at Georgie and took her to the rubber floor behind a weight bench. More bullets hit the wall above us and she cried out. I moved my body over hers, shielding her.
The shooting stopped. I waited a beat, then lifted my head. Through the machines I saw that Snyder was gone.
“We can’t lose him,” she said.
I pulled her up. I pulled my gun out and she did the same. We crossed the gym and reached the door Synder had escaped through.
We paused on either side of it. She nodded, then I cracked it open.
I could see cars. It was a garage.
Staying crouched, we slid inside. It was the biggest garage I’d ever seen. We cautiously moved inside, looking for our target. I pressed a finger to my lips and Georgie nodded.
The place was fancy as hell. The floors were polished concrete and the walls were painted black. Lines of modern LED lights ran along the ceiling, illuminating the row of expensive cars. I saw a Ferrari, a Lamborghini, an Aston Martin DBX SUV, a McLaren, and more.
There was no sound. No sign of him.
Where did he go?
I pointed, and Georgie and I moved past the Ferrari, using it for cover. She was staying right behind me.
Come on, Snyder.
I heard a squeak of a shoe on the polished concrete and spun.
A russet-haired security guard leaped at us from behind a Mercedes SUV.
Georgie cried out. He rammed her into the next car, then kicked at me.
My SIG went flying and skidded under another car.
Fuck. I lunged at the guy.
My first punch hit his gut, the second his chest. He fell back with a yowl.
But he wasn’t a quitter.
He lowered a shoulder and charged at me.
He hit me hard, and my body slammed into a car behind me. Pain radiated up my back but I ignored it. When he swung at my face, I ducked, then landed a double punch into his gut, and shoved him off me.
We spun, and I sent his body flying against another car. A car alarm started blaring.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and got him in a headlock. I pulled back, cutting off his air. He choked, grabbing desperately at my arm.
Gritting my teeth, I held on.
Georgie was watching. Her gaze was steady, no fear or panic on her face. She watched as I choked the guy into unconsciousness. He sagged and I dropped him.
“We have to find Snyder,” she said.
I scanned the cars. “He’s here.”
My gun was gone, but I knelt down and grabbed the guard’s. I checked it, and then we moved down the line of vehicles.
I was proud of Georgie. She was focused, determined, brave. So damn brave.
I loved her.
Damn, of course I loved her. I’d loved her since she was a teenager. Every fierce, sweet, and vulnerable inch of her.
I’d spend the rest of my life loving her, working to deserve her.
I heard a noise and we both swiveled. Something was rolling on the floor. Crouching, I took a step closer.
Georgie turned, her eyes widening. She was looking in the opposite direction to the noise.
“Nash!”
I sensed someone behind me…a second too late.
Something hard slammed into my head.
Pain cut through me like a shockwave.
My vision turned to black splotches and I staggered. I couldn’t go down. I couldn’t leave Georgie alone and undefended.
Another blow cracked into my skull.
I crashed to the concrete and heard Georgie scream. My nerveless fingers dropped the gun. My legs wouldn’t move, my arms wouldn’t move. Pain throbbed through my head.
I saw Georgie’s pretty shoes.
Fight it, Oakley.
She needs you.
But I couldn’t move. The pain was too much. It had claws and it latched onto me, digging in deep, and dragging me under.