Chapter 57

The woman was holding a walking stick, too. Dear god, was she blind? Claudia was about to scream out to her when the woman, apparently instinctively, dropped to her knees and then rolled over on her side, covering her head. A spray of bullets hit the metal doors of the closing elevator right where the woman had been standing. Claudia turned to Daniel to warn him about the innocent woman.
He was staring toward the other woman, a look of anger and horror frozen on his face. Claudia had never seen such emotion penetrate his deadly exterior. Did he know the other woman? From her current position, Claudia doubted it. The woman looked soft and feminine, the opposite of anything that might attract Daniel Mercer. Yet, he was watching her like a hawk watches over its young. Deadly, uncannily still, ready to strike if necessary.
Thinking quickly, Claudia said, "Give me one of those guns."
Daniel looked down to where Claudia was crouched under him. Her green eyes held his earnestly. Like most people, she usually dropped her eyes from him and looked away. But this time she meant it and she wouldn't back down from him. He ignored her request. Apparently his job was to protect her, not listen to her.
"Shut up," Daniel replied, his eyes searching out the other woman. She was still cowering against the wall next to the elevator bank. Her walking stick had fallen and rolled a few feet away from her when she hit the floor. She was curled on her side, her arms over her head. As though that could save her from bullets.
"Please, Daniel!" Claudia said, touching his arm. "I can shoot, and if we don't do something, she'll die."
Daniel growled at her and she dropped her hand as if burned. Claudia wished she could make him listen. Now was not the time for him to be the misogynistic jerk that was her usual deadly shadow. She needed him to listen so they could save the blind woman who was helpless against a hail of bullets!
A scream snapped their attention back to her. A spray of bullets just over her head rained chunks of wall down on her. Claudia's heart sped into overtime. They had to do something, before the young woman was killed! It was most likely Claudia's fault the woman was in danger. She had little doubt these gunmen belonged to Franco Delgado, whose pockets and reach were equally deep. Without putting much thought into her actions (or she would never have dared), Claudia hauled her fist back and punched Daniel in the arm.
"Ouch!" Claudia wailed.
Daniel looked down at her in surprise. Claudia shook her aching hand and glared at him in annoyance. He could at least look a tiny bit injured. Or like he even noticed she had just punched him. Instead he looked mildly confused. Well, here goes, thought Claudia reaching for the other gun still in Daniel's holster, think Anya and let's do this shit. Before he could react, Claudia launched herself around the side of the desk closest to the outside doors and started shooting at the marble pillars containing bad guys.
Daniel looked shocked for a split second as he realized Claudia had swiped one of the guns. She feared he would reach out and snatch her back rather than go after the terrified blind woman.
"Go get her!" Claudia snapped, trying to infuse as much command into her voice as she could manage.
Used to acting quickly, Daniel didn't say another word. He took the questionable cover fire she was laying down and dove for other woman. The shooters were focusing mainly on their target, Claudia, and trying not to get shot by her. It became quickly obvious they were trying to pin her down without killing her. Daniel ran in a crouch and swooped the other girl up into his arms. Her terrified shriek drew the shooters' attention back to him.
"Motherfucker!" Daniel snarled, taking a hit in the back.
Claudia felt sick and desperately hoped he was wearing his usual armour underneath his jacket. She flung her arm around the side of the desk and squeezed off several more shots, trying to lay cover so Daniel could get back to the relative safety of the big reception desk. The attackers responded by shooting all around her again without actually getting too close to her position.
Using his body to protect the terrified woman in his arms, Daniel dove for cover behind the concierge desk. "You're safe," he said in his gruff voice, dropping the terrified woman and using his weapon to draw fire back to himself.
"Get your ass back here," he snapped at Claudia.
Relieved that Daniel and the woman were safe once more, Claudia crawled back toward him, her hair swinging wildly around her face. When she reached his side, Daniel snatched his gun from her shaking hand, checked the chamber and shoved her down next to the other woman. Claudia went willingly, happy to relinquish control to the big bodyguard once more.
"Are you hurt?" Claudia asked the woman, touching her shoulder gently. When she flinched away, Claudia said soothingly, "I'm not going to hurt you."
"Wh what's happening?" The woman asked, pushing dark curls off her face and sitting up with Claudia's help. Her blank, brown eyes reflected her confusion and terror.
"We're being shot at," Claudia answered quickly.
"I'm blind, not stupid. I figured that much out from the shooting sounds!" She snapped back. "Why are we being shot at in what's supposed to be one of the most secure and safe buildings in the city? Tyson King lives here, for the love of god! This place should be a fortress."
Claudia blinked in surprise and then smiled involuntarily. The woman had spunk, which Claudia could appreciate. She reminded Claudia a little of Anya. "I'm Claudia, Tyson's girlfriend," she supplied. "And the guy that grabbed you is Daniel Mercer, Tyson's head of security. If anyone can keep us safe until help arrives it's him."
She conveniently left out the part where it was her fault they were sitting in a shooting range. Her desperate gaze lifted to Daniel, silently begging him to save them. Daniel looked back, his eyes hooded, expression grave. Claudia had put her arm around the other woman to protect and comfort the blind girl. The woman seemed to accept the embrace, clutching Claudia back.
Finally she spoke, her voice shaking a little. "My name is Addie Addie Sterling."
"Hi Addie," Claudia said into her ear over the sound of gunfire. "It's nice to meet you."
The absurdity of their polite meeting hit both women and they laughed together quietly crouched on the floor. Claudia was busy reassuring Addie as best she could when Daniel's sharp gaze swivelled to the right, toward the elevator bank. Claudia followed his line of sight and watched in horror as two men burst through the stairwell door next to the elevators. The three of them were completely vulnerable where they were crouched, not even hidden from that angle.
Luckily Daniel saw the men before they had time to register the trio. He ruthlessly took them out where they stood. Both bodies hit the floor, one right after the other. Daniel shouted at two more men that came hurtling out of the stairwell. Claudia stiffened in terror before she recognized them. They were Daniel's men, and by extension Tyson's! The tension left her as the two used the doorway for cover and shot up the marble pillars, forcing the remaining gunmen to flee. In a matter of seconds, the entire ordeal was ended. The gunmen covered each other until they could reach the main doors and run for safety now that they were outnumbered.
Daniel stood, taking Claudia's arm and forced her to her feet. She yelped and stumbled, dropping her arms from Addie. The other woman lay on the floor, pushing herself up by her arms and staring blankly around in confusion.
"Daniel!" Claudia gasped, bracing herself against him. She hastily removed her hand when his icy eyes swept her with chilling intensity.
"Is the penthouse still secure?" Mercer asked his men.
"Yeah, I think so," muttered the closest one. "We caught these bastards on their way up. They had equipment to break through the reinforced stairwell door, but didn't get that far."
"Good. Take her upstairs," he snapped, shoving Claudia at Brandon, one of the other bodyguards. "King is on his way, he'll want to see her safe. Stay with her until he arrives. Sweep the penthouse for good measure."
Turning to Theo, he said, "Stay for the police report. Give only the necessary information. They can talk to me if they have a problem. Have the rest of our guys sweep the building. I'll be with Miss Sterling in her apartment, suite 1210."
Claudia stumbled a little as Brandon forced her to step around a dead body. Claudia was beginning to wonder if being an unbearable asshole was a prerequisite for becoming a bodyguard. She also wondered how the heck Daniel knew where Addie Sterling lived. Did he memorize everyone in the building for potential threats?
"I'm not going anywhere with you," Addie snapped crossly, earning a smile from Claudia as Brandon pulled her past them. She reached out and gave Addie's limp hand a quick squeeze.
"I heard what you said to that other guy. You know where I live, which under any other circumstances would make me extremely uncomfortable. But since I just survived some kind of wild west showdown, I'm just going to be grateful for my life and not question why you seem to know my name and apartment number. But I'll thank you to leave me the hell alone. I don't know you and I don't trust you."
Claudia craned her head to hear the rest of what Addie was saying to Daniel. She wanted to cheer for the other woman and tell her to give the guy hell. Another part of her wanted to warn the woman to tread carefully since she couldn't see the extent of Daniel Mercer's icy, terrifying demeanor. At the moment his visage was decidedly more grim than usual.
The last thing Claudia saw was Daniel reach for the other woman and say in a growl, "You're coming with me."
The elevator doors closed behind Claudia and Brandon. Claudia yanked her arm out of his steely grip and glared at him. "Why don't you guys make it easier for a woman to appreciate your protection?"
Brandon looked over at Claudia. He was about the same height as her, but thickly muscled. He shrugged and answered, "We don't get paid to make nice with the boss' woman. Just save her ass when it gets shot at."
Claudia shot him a look and crossed her arms in front of her. "Is that right? I bet if I asked Tyson, he'd make you guys smile for me."
His face finally cracked in a half grin. "Probably. But you ain't going to do that."
"And why is that?"
"Because bodyguards are more effective and sexier when we're being serious and menacing," he said completely serious.
Claudia laughed as the elevator arrived at the penthouse suite. The doors slid open with a ding. She looked up into the face of Dante Marquez. He was holding a handgun out and it was trained on her head. Her mirth fled as she turned anguished eyes on Brandon who was reaching for his gun. Before he could get it out of the holster Dante shot him in the head. Blood sprayed across the elevator, splattering across Claudia's white skirt, Brandon hit the floor of the elevator, dead.
Dante tucked his gun into his pants and reached for Claudia. She balled her hand up into a fist and sent it flying into his jaw, hoping to distract him enough to run past him and make it into the penthouse.
The hit wasn't hard enough. It only swung his head to the side. He turned back to her, his black gaze cold and merciless. He retaliated swiftly, striking Claudia in the side of the head with so much force she was knocked right off her feet and into the side panel of the elevator. He grabbed her arm before she could slide to the ground and held her tightly.
Claudia whimpered and reached out to brace herself against the wall, her head swimming unbearably. She put a hand over her cheek and ear where he had struck her. The skin was numb to her gentle touch. She could feel heat flushing her skin. She had been stupid to attack him. Now he would probably kill her faster.
Dante hauled her off the elevator, over Brandon's limp body and dragged her bodily down the hall to the door of the penthouse. He threw her into the door and growled, "Open it."
Claudia thought about denying him entry to the penthouse. Once she entered the door code it would also disarm the alarm panel. There was a panic button on the panel that Tyson had shown her. Dante was arrogant but he wasn't stupid. He would know what she was doing. She decided to give him what he wanted, hopefully buying herself a few more minutes in the process. If Tyson could reach her in time he would tear the murdering bastard apart with his bare hands. She entered the code for the penthouse and staggered helplessly as Dante strode in with her in tow.