Chapter Nine: Crossfire

The shot hit the ground inches from Lena's feet.

"Get down!" Adrian grabbed Mira and pulled her behind the stone gatepost, his whole body curling over hers like a shield.

Another shot cracked through the dark, and this one hit Marcus's shoulder. He staggered but did not fall.

"Marcus!" Mira shouted.

"I'm fine, Mira, just move." Marcus fired back into the trees, and two of his men scattered toward the treeline, with guns up.

Lena was screaming somewhere behind them, still tied and exposed to danger. "Adrian, please, cut me loose." She cried.

"Stay down." Adrian yelled at her, but she wasn't listening, she was crawling toward the gate, dragging her bound hands through the mud.

"She's going to get herself killed," Mira said.

"She might already be the reason we're getting shot at," Adrian said through his teeth.

Boooooom!!! There came another shot, this one hit the gatepost right above their heads, sending stone chips flying.

"They're not trying to kill you," Marcus called out, ducking low as he reloaded. "Look at the spread, they're herding us."

"Herding us where?" Adrian asked.

"Away from the house, toward the tree line." Marcus's eyes went wide. "Sir, it's a funnel. They want us pinned in the open."

Adrian's jaw locked. "Fall back…. everyone, fall back to the house, now" he commanded.

"What about her?" Mira pointed at Lena, as she was still crawling, and screaming Adrian's name.

Adrian swore under his breath and moved before he could think it through, sprinting low and fast toward Lena, dragging her up by the arm just as another bullet chewed into the dirt where she'd been lying seconds before.

"Move, move, move!" he shouted, half-carrying her back toward the gate.

Mira ran alongside them, with her heart slamming so hard that she could barely hear anything past it. A bullet whined somewhere over her shoulder, close enough that she felt the air move but she didn't stop to think about it, she just ran.

Marcus and his men laid down cover fire, retreating step by step, until they were all crashing back through the front doors of the house.

Helena slammed the doors shut behind them, bolting three separate locks with her shaking hands.

For a moment, nobody spoke as everyone was just breathing heavily.

"Report," Adrian asked finally, with his chest heaving.

"One man down, but not fatal," Marcus said, pressing a hand to his own bleeding arm. "Whoever was shooting knew exactly what they were doing. They are trained professionals."

"Corin doesn't use professionals," Adrian said.

"He does now," Marcus said grimly.

Lena sat crumpled against the wall, still bound and 

still shaking. Mira knelt and, without really thinking about it, started working at the rope around her wrists.

"You don't have to do that," Adrian said quietly, watching her.

"She's still tied up in your front hallway," Mira said. "Untying her doesn't mean I trust her."

Lena looked up at Mira with something unreadable in her eyes. "Thank you," she said softly.

"Don't thank me yet," Mira said, as she was untying the last knot free. "I still think you might be the reason we just got shot at."

Lena's mouth twitched, almost a smile. "You are a smart girl."

"I mean it," Mira said, sitting back on her heels. "You show up out of nowhere after three years being dead, and ten minutes later there's a sniper in the trees. Forgive me if I don't hand you a blanket and a cup of tea."

"I would forgive you," Lena said. "I'd probably think the same thing if I were you."

Adrian crouched in front of her, ignoring the exchange. "Why would Corin send professional shooters to hit us right after sending you to distract us? I don't seem to understand at all. If he wanted us dead, snipers first would've made more sense than sending you at all."

Lena's face changed, fear flickering behind her eyes. "Unless he knew I'd run."

"What do you mean?" Adrian pressed.

"I mean, the distraction was never really about buying time before an attack tomorrow," Lena said slowly, choosing her words as she spoke. "Maybe I was the bait the whole time, and the shooters were the real message. He wanted you distracted enough, out in the open and exposed, right when the shots came."

"So it was never about tomorrow night," Adrian said, voice low.

"It was about tonight," Lena said. "It was always about tonight."

"That's a nice theory," Marcus said, still pressing his hand to his shoulder. "This also puts you back on our side without you having to prove anything."

"I don't need to prove anything to you," Lena snapped.

"You kind of do," Mira said. "Considering you showed up being tied up and crying, at the exact moment your brother decided to open fire."

Lena looked at her for a long second, something like respect crossing her face. "You're not what I expected."

"Get used to disappointment," Mira said.

Adrian almost laughed, he actually laughed in the middle of everything, but he stopped when Marcus's radio crackled again. This time Marcus's face went blank white as he listened.

"Sir," he said slowly, lowering the radio. "You need to see the east wing."

"What now?" Adrian snapped.

"There's smoke," Marcus said. "The kitchen storage caught fire. Whoever hit the gates, they weren't just shooting at us out there." His eyes darted toward the hallway leading deeper into the house. "Someone got inside during the chaos."

"Inside?" Adrian repeated, like the word didn't fit right in his mouth.

"While we were all out at the gate,  the doors were open and everyone's attention was on the girl and the gunfire, someone broke in." Marcus said.

Adrian's eyes cut sharp to Lena. "You said this was the message and you said it was over, what then am i hearing?"

"It was supposed to be," Lena said, and for the first time, real fear crossed her face, fear that didn't look like it was for herself. "Adrian, I swear, I didn't know about this part."

Helena appeared at the end of the hall, one hand braced against the wall, coughing. "Sir. It's not just the kitchen."

"What do you mean it's not just the kitchen?" Adrian demanded.

Helena's eyes found Mira's, and something in her face made Mira's stomach drop before she even said it.

"They didn't come for the house," Helena said. "They came to the safe room again and this time, Elena's door is standing wide open."

The lights flickered once, twice, then the entire hallway went dark.