Page 101 of A Madness of Crows

As I round the corner a few steps ahead of Stefano, the shot nearly takes me out. Swearing, I duck to the side. Shouts echo from down the hall, a burst of gunfire.

“Cat!”

I straighten at that voice. “Danny?”

My senior soldier bursts through the smoke. And he’s grinning as he launches himself toward me, his embrace threatening to topple me as I wrap my arms around him tightly.

“Fucking hell, it’s good to see you.” I pull away, glancing over his shoulder to check the route is clear. More faces look back at me.

Rocco, Dante’s enforcer, grins. “Now it’s a party.”

A man who I vaguely recognise from the Fusco line offers me a nod. I frown at him. “Do I know you?”

He blanches. “Uh – the Fusco dungeon. Sorry about that.”

Everyone pauses, even Rocco. Slowly, I nod. “One for later.”

Hands push Danny out of the way. Tony looks worse, a deep cut dripping blood into his eye, but he drags me into his arms anyway. “Have you seen Frankie?”

Stiffening, I shake my head at his frantic tone. “I did – but a few days ago. She didn’t come back?”

The panic on his face grows. “No.”

Shouting behind us, and I twist, throwing my hands out. “Don’t kill him!”

Danny’s gun is up, pointing at Stefano. “You sure?”

“Yes.” Delicately, I push the barrel down, offering Stefan an apologetic grimace. He keeps his own up a few moments longer. “He’s with me. Can you spread the word?”

“Will do.”

Footsteps up ahead. I glance back to Tony. “We’ll find her, Tony.”

We take up positions in the doorways lining the hall. Shots are exchanged on both sides until they go silent. We wait, assessing.

When nothing else comes, we slip out. I turn back to Tony, opening my mouth—

My head bangs against the wall. Shouting, more of it, and Stefan is there, rolling me over. “You okay?”

“Cat.”

I stagger to my feet. Tony is crouched, his hands not stopping the blood.

No.

Danny coughs as I drop down next to him. My hands shake. “Danny—,”

The shot went through his neck. The shot meant forme.

He wheezes. It takes seconds, just a few short seconds for his eyes to turn to glass. Tony swears, and I hear the agony beneath.

“I’m sorry,” I breathe, staring at his face. “I’m so sorry, Danny.”

Ican’t.I can’t let that ache in yet. Stefan helps Tony to shift him, to move him so he’s laying on his back, out of the way of anyone. “We’ll come back for him.”

After this is done.

Stefan looks down the corridor. “More coming.”