Chapter 7: Shattered Glass
The explosive shatter of the stained-glass window filled the chapel with the sharp, chaotic sound of falling crystal and the sudden rush of cool outside air. Mark dropped instinctively to his knees, throwing his body protectively over Lily as colorful shards rained down around them like jagged raindrops. Dust and pulverized mortar drifted lazily through the sudden shafts of sunlight piercing the broken window frame.
Across the room, the man in the charcoal suit didn't flinch. He drew a sleek, suppressed pistol from his shoulder holster with fluid, practiced ease, his gray eyes scanning the jagged opening in the wall.
"Stay down!" the man ordered sharply, his voice commanding absolute obedience.
Mark clutched Lily tightly, her muffled sobs vibrating against his chest. "What was that? Was that a gunshot?"
"Silenced rifle," the man replied coldly, keeping his weapon raised. "They aren't here to talk anymore. The asset has been compromised beyond recovery, which means everyone who touched this wedding is a loose end."
A cold sweat broke out across Mark’s forehead. Loose ends. The phrase echoed in his mind with terrifying clarity. He had spent the last six months falling in love with a ghost, and now that ghost’s employers—or her enemies—were treating him and his innocent daughter as collateral damage.
"We need to get out of here right now," Mark said, his voice laced with desperate urgency as he looked around for another exit.
"The back vestry is sealed. The police officers you saw earlier are currently neutralized," the man in the charcoal suit stated matter-of-factly, never taking his eyes off the broken window.
Mark felt his breath catch. "Neutralized? Are they dead?"
"Asleep. Gas canisters through the ventilation," the man corrected flatly. "Which means you and I are running out of time. Give me the envelope, Mark. It's the only way they'll leave you alone."
Mark hesitated, his grip tightening on the manila envelope tucked under his arm. Trust was a luxury he could no longer afford, least of all from a mysterious man holding a gun in a ruined chapel. If this man wanted the documents so badly, it meant the information inside was the key to whatever game was being played.
"If I give this to you, you let me and my daughter walk out of here," Mark demanded, his voice hardening with desperate resolve.
May you like
The man glanced down at Lily, who was trembling violently in Mark's arms, and for a fraction of a second, his cold gray eyes softened. "I don't make promises, Mr. Vance. I make choices. And right now, your best choice is trusting the man with the gun who is trying to keep you breathing."
Before Mark could make a choice, the heavy oak front doors of the chapel began to splinter as heavy blows rained down from the outside.
