Nowhere to Hide

The staircase spiraled endlessly beneath the city.

Dark concrete walls.

Dim emergency lights.

The sound of footsteps hunting them from above.

Ava could barely breathe as Luca pulled her downward two steps at a time. Her heels were useless now, one already broken from running across shattered glass.

Behind them, Damien’s voice echoed calmly through the stairwell.

“You know Father hates games.”

Luca ignored him.

Another gunshot exploded overhead.

Concrete cracked beside Ava’s shoulder.

She screamed.

“Keep moving!” Luca barked.

The lower they descended, the colder the air became. Somewhere below them, engines hummed faintly. Underground parking.

Almost there.

Luca finally shoved open a heavy steel door at the bottom of the staircase.

A private garage waited beyond it.

Luxury cars lined the walls beneath fluorescent lights, but Luca headed straight for a black motorcycle near the exit gate.

Ava stared at him in disbelief.

“You’re kidding.”

“No.”

“You want me to get on that while people are trying to murder us?”

“A car traps us in traffic.”

Footsteps thundered closer above them.

No more time.

Luca handed her a helmet quickly.

“Ava.”

“I hate you,” she muttered shakily.

“That’s fair.”

Another gunshot echoed through the garage entrance.

Ava climbed onto the motorcycle instantly.

Luca started the engine.

The roar filled the underground space violently.

Then Damien appeared at the stairwell entrance.

Gun in hand.

Perfectly calm.

His dark eyes landed directly on Ava.

And he smiled.

“Careful,” he called over the engine. “He breaks everything he loves.”

Luca accelerated before Ava could process the words.

The motorcycle shot through the garage exit into the rain-soaked streets of Manhattan.

Cold wind slammed against Ava immediately as she wrapped her arms tightly around Luca’s waist.

Behind them—

Black SUVs emerged onto the street.

Following.

“Of course they’re following us!” Ava shouted over the storm.

Luca swerved sharply between traffic.

“They won’t stop.”

Rain blurred the city into streaks of neon and headlights. Taxis honked angrily as Luca flew through red lights at terrifying speed.

Ava buried her face briefly against his back, panic and adrenaline crashing through her body together.

This didn’t feel real.

Nothing about tonight felt real anymore.

Luca’s phone suddenly buzzed inside his jacket.

He ignored it.

It buzzed again.

And again.

Finally Ava shouted, “Answer it!”

“No.”

“What if it matters?”

“It’s him.”

His father.

The motorcycle sped onto the Brooklyn Bridge, rain hammering against them violently now. The skyline glittered behind them like a burning dream.

Then Luca’s phone rang again.

This time he answered.

Without slowing down.

“What?” he snapped.

The voice on the other end was calm.

Controlled.

Terrifying.

Even through the rain, Ava could hear it faintly.

“You’re disappointing me.”

Luca’s grip tightened on the handlebars.

“I’m not bringing her to you.”

A pause.

Then the voice laughed softly.

Ava felt chills instantly.

“You already did.”

Luca’s expression changed.

Fear.

Real fear.

“What does that mean?” he demanded.

“Look behind you.”

Luca glanced into the mirror.

A black SUV was gaining on them rapidly.

Its headlights flashed twice.

Then the passenger window rolled down.

Ava’s stomach dropped.

A woman sat inside.

Dark hair.

Red lipstick.

Gun aimed directly at them.

“She’s going to shoot!” Ava screamed.

The woman smiled.

Then fired.

The bullet shattered the motorcycle mirror inches from Luca’s face.

Luca swerved hard.

Cars screeched around them.

Ava nearly slipped off the bike completely.

“Hold on!” Luca shouted.

Another shot rang out.

This one hit the back tire.

The motorcycle fishtailed violently across the wet bridge.

Ava screamed as the bike spun sideways.

Everything blurred.

Rain.

Metal.

Lights.

Then impact.

Pain exploded through Ava’s body as she slammed against the pavement.

The world spun violently around her.

For several terrifying seconds she couldn’t breathe.

Somewhere nearby, tires screeched.

People shouted.

Ava forced herself up shakily.

“Luca?”

No answer.

Fear hit instantly.

She looked around desperately through the rain.

The motorcycle lay destroyed several feet away.

Traffic had stopped across the bridge.

But Luca—

Was gone.

A hand suddenly grabbed Ava from behind.

She gasped violently, trying to fight, but a familiar female voice whispered into her ear.

“Relax.”

A woman in a black coat pulled her toward the side of the bridge quickly.

The same woman from the SUV.

The one with the gun.

Only now she wasn’t aiming at Ava.

She was helping her.

“What—?”

“No time,” the woman snapped. “They’re coming.”

“Where’s Luca?”

The woman looked at her strangely.

Then headlights flooded the bridge again.

Three more SUVs approached fast.

The woman cursed under her breath.

“Ava,” she said urgently, “if you want Luca alive, you need to trust me right now.”

Ava stared at her in shock.

“Who are you?”

The woman hesitated only a second.

Then she answered:

“I’m Luca’s wife.”