Chapter 5 - COLLATERAL DAMAGE
"I don't care what it takes, find her!" Vanessa's voice echoed through the penthouse foyer. She was drunk, stumbling in with her father's head of security, a hulking man named Briggs.
Claire flattened herself against the wall of the study, holding her breath. Briggs walked into the room, his flashlight sweeping the darkness. The beam caught the open hollow book.
"Miss Sterling," Briggs barked. "Someone's been here."
Claire didn't wait. She bolted from the shadows, ducking under Briggs's grasping arms. She sprinted down the hallway, but Vanessa stepped out of the master bedroom, blocking the exit. Vanessa’s eyes widened in furious recognition. "You! Grab her, Briggs!"
Briggs lunged. Claire didn't fight his momentum; she used the Third Gate. She sidestepped, gripping his wrist, and guided his heavy body forward into a glass display cabinet. It shattered, raining crystal down on the floor.
Claire vaulted over the kitchen island and burst out the service door, racing down the concrete fire stairs. Her phone buzzed in her pocket. It was Adrian.
May you like
"I have it," she breathed into the receiver, running down twenty flights of stairs.
"Get out of there, Claire. They just froze my hotel assets. The Sterlings know I'm making a move. I'm coming to get you."
