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"Take this," I said, handing her one of the guns. "If anyone other than me enters these rooms, point it at them and pull the trigger."

"Az…."

I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers in a chaste kiss before pulling away. "Don't leave this room until I come for you, Princess." I ordered, pulling open the sitting room door just enough for me to slip into the hallway.

I could make out three shapes in the darkened space, still hovering around the door to Rich's office. As stealthily aspossible, I made my way toward them until I was close enough to put the barrel of my gun to the back of the nearest man's head.

"Give me one good reason not to kill you where you stand." I spoke, causing the trio to jump.

My rapidly adjusting eyes caught the other two drawing their weapons in response. I wrapped my arm around the throat of the man I held at gunpoint and pulled him flush against my chest to shield myself if they chose to pull the trigger.

"You're an idiot if you think holding me hostage will save you, Casadei." He scoffed.

"Yeah, well, maybe not, but I'm gonna make sure you fuckers go down with me." I replied.

Victoria's muffled scream from inside her suite caused my muscles to tense and my focus to break. The Jackal I was using as a human shield took advantage of my momentary distraction to elbow me hard in the stomach and drop his weight to the floor, causing me to lose my hold on him. The other two opened fire the moment their compatriot was out of danger.

Muzzle flashes lit up the space, nearly blinding after the lack of light. Ducking low, I let instinct take over and fired haphazardly toward them. The distinct thud of a body hitting the floor reached my ears just as searing pain flashed through my right arm. I gritted my teeth and forced myself to keep a hold of my gun. I blinked quickly, trying to make my eyes adjust faster as I fired another couple of rounds in the direction of my attackers. One of them yelled out as my shot struck him, followed by the sound of his body hitting the floor.

More wild shots were returned, and I felt a cutting pain on the side of my head seconds before I was nearly sent sprawling backward from the force of a bullet in my shoulder.

"Fuck!" I yelled, pressing myself as low as possible and firing several more times. Thankfully, the last one's lifeless body hit the floor.

I sighed heavily as a few more assailants emerged from the darkness, and I retreated back toward Victoria's rooms. They spotted me, and I fired behind me as I moved, trying to keep them at a distance. Where the fuck was everyone? The darkness of the hallway worked both in my favor and against me. The sting of my wounds was annoying and only fueled my anger.

As I reached the door to her rooms, I slipped inside quickly and hastily attempted to barricade the door. It wouldn't hold, but I needed to buy more time. They were relentless, and I knew they wouldn't stop until they were successful or taken down.

Victoria was crouched in a corner in her en suite sitting room, fear etched all over her face as I approached. "Are you okay?" I asked, keeping my voice low as I took note of the motion sensor lights flooding into the room.

"I am now. There were men at the patio door banging and one looked like he was trying to pick the locks. They startled me, but they left when I waved the gun at them." She nodded, gripping the gun tightly in her hand. She saw the blood on my face and shot out of the corner. "Az! You're injured!"

"I'm fine, Princess. They'll heal." I reassured her.

As I spoke, the glass from her patio windows shattered, and several men entered the room. Simultaneously, the door to the hallway slammed open, throwing the chair I'd used to barricade it across the room. I moved swiftly, pulling Victoria behind a large piece of furniture for cover. The attackers fired blindly into the sitting room, the noise deafening.

Taking a deep breath, I checked my remaining ammo before leaning out and returning fire. Several shots landed their targets, taking down a few of our attackers. They dispersed and found cover of their own from their different vantage points. It became a game to outmaneuver each other.

As the chaos intensified, I could feel them pressing closer into the sitting room where we had sought cover from thefirefight. This was far from ideal, trapped in a room that seemed to get smaller as time passed.

I kept firing over the furniture every time one of those bastards poked their head out from cover to take aim. I took a couple more out in the volley and made a silent promise to join Joey at the range more often after this. I wasn't as fast on the trigger as he was, and with a handful of men left, it wouldn't be anything but spite and rage that got us out of this.

My ears were ringing after a short time, and my heart pounded in my chest. Every movement caused the pain from my injuries to intensify. I spared a glance behind me to check on Victoria. She was doing her best to stay low and hidden, pressed against the wall, and her eyes filled with fear. They'd have to kill me to get close to her, but there wasn't time for reassurances.

Counting each shot, I motioned for her to trade guns with me when my ammo got low, and I crawled to the edge of our cover to get some kind of aid while I handled the rest of our attackers. Spotting a group of them moving from behind the wall that separated our room from her bedroom, I fired several shots. I sighed in relief as four more bodies hit the floor.

Just one left now, and if my count was correct, I was now out of ammo. A moment later, a frustrated curse came from the far opposite corner of her sitting room.

"Weren't counting your shots, were you?" I laughed, standing as I heard the soft click of his now useless gun. A wicked grin spread across my face as I taunted him, my voice steady despite the exhaustion and pain in my injured limbs. "Come on then, show me what you Jackals are made of."

His grip on his gun tightened, frustration evident in his expression. He lunged at me, using his gun as a makeshift weapon. I dodged his desperate strike just as a loud crash near us startled our would-be attacker and caught him off guard.Seizing the opportunity, I charged forward to close the distance between us.

I wouldn't back down and kept the momentum going with a series of blows to his torso and face. He stumbled back a few steps from me, tossed aside his weapon, and rolled his shoulders before facing me again, rage painting his features.

We clashed hard, trading blows harshly, knowing only the victor would survive this fight. I punched his face, hearing the sickening sound of his nose breaking under my fist. He returned a powerful blow to my side. I don't know how long this back-and-forth went on as the sounds of our struggle filled the room.

After a while, my breaths became heavy, and my movements slowed. The pain in my arms radiated out from the bullet wounds, making it difficult to keep my power up. My assailant's attacks, however, intensified as I struggled to keep up with his assault.

He landed a crushing strike to my jaw, causing me to stagger backward slightly. I tasted blood in my mouth as my head spun. Before I could regain my balance, he rushed and was on me again, raining his fists down on me with brutal force.