AllFreeNovel
Share Us
All that mattered now was her mad dash to the stone façade.
And she reached it in a matter of seconds.
But she didn’t stop there.
The momentum propelled herupthe wall. Her foot caught the base of the window ledge as her fingers found the frame. She pulled herself up again, muscling her entire body through the air. She flung out her arm, using the last of the momentum, and caught the trellis beneath the second-floor window.
Splinters threatened to gouge her fingertips. She winced, desperately praying the thing wouldn’t snap and send her tumbling.
But still no shouts and no sounds.
The two guards below her had turned back around, patrolling along the edge of the swimming pool once more. If she had waited even a second, they would have spotted her. But now, she dangled eight feet off the ground, halfway up the first floor.
No one saw her. The guards’ eyes were downcast. The conversators by the glass doors didn’t note her presence either. The drone camera was angled towards the ground.
Perfect.
And like this, she pulled herself carefully up the wooden trellis, doing her best not to break off sections.
Cora clambered up the window trellis, reached the second floor, and pressed her fingers against the glass. She applied slight pressure, pushing. But the window remained closed.
She cursed beneath her breath. She had been worried she might have to break the window.
She didn’t have the proper equipment to do it quietly.
Dangling there, glancing occasionally into the backyard to make sure she hadn’t been spotted, Cora managed to pull the knife from her hip sheath. She removed it, and, breathing heavily, but trying to keep her composure, she slid the knife beneath the window, finagling it back and forth. She found the latch and pushed. And then, her fingers staining the glass, she shoved it once more.
It opened slowly. She wiped her fingerprints clear with the edge of her wet sleeve, and then, still dripping, she slid through the small gap, fell into the mansion, and shut the window behind her with a faintclick.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Cora breathed slowly, inhaling the odor of air fresheners. She slipped her knife into her hip sheath and pushed slowly to her feet. She peered down the hall, searching desperately for any movement.
But by the looks of things, she was—
A voice directly at her side. “What the hell?”
She spun and stared. A guard was stepping out from a bathroom, the door directly to her left.
His eyes bugged. Private security, wearing the black outfit and close-circuit radio of the other men she had seen around the mayor’s mansion.
As his gaze settled on her, though, his hand darted for his weapon. She didn’t have time to think. She moved in, fast. He reacted too. Instead of allowing her to slam her fist into his gut, he twisted at the hips. Her blow glanced off. His weapon raised. But she couldn’t let him fire and alert the rest of the guards. So instead of going for him again, she went for the fingers. Twisting. The gun pointed up, and his fingers bent awkwardly.
But he released the grip, allowing her to pull the weapon off his hand. His other hand shot out, going for her throat. A narrow miss.
This was no slouch. These private security guys often had military training of their own.
But she had caught him unawares, the same as he had done with her. She dropped her head and went in fast. Her shoulder caught his midsection now, and the two of them tumbled into the bathroom. They hit the cold, tiled floor.
The two of them struggled desperately, each trying to gain the advantage. Punches, chokes, and some gouging. It was a messy, desperate struggle. More blows missed than hit.
But finally, after a particularly devastating punch to the man’s kidneys, Cora was able to gain his back.
He went for her fingers now. The gun clattered to the ground where it had been dropped in the confusion.
Her foot sent the weapon skittering. The sound caught his attention. A temporary distraction. But it allowed her to slip his guard. Her arm snaked around his neck. She caught it with her hand, pulling the choke in taut.
Now, his fingers reached for his weapon. His other hand tried to gouge her eyes as he reached back over his shoulder towards where she clung to his neck like a monkey.
