Page 105 of Cursed

In that split second, several things happen simultaneously.

Landon yanks me to the ground, covering my body with his. A shot rings out from the darkness, but misses Orlov as he moves. His men open fire, bullets whizzing overhead. The garden erupts in chaos as shadowy figures emerge from unexpected positions.

Landon’s lips brush against my ear as bullets fly above us. “Stay down, little butterfly. The real trap is just beginning.”

I realize with a shock that Landon had anticipated this double-cross all along—and has a contingency plan I know nothing about. As gunfire erupts around us and we lie pinned down by Orlov’s forces, I catch a glint in Landon’s eye that suggests he’s exactly where he planned to be.

43

SADIE

Bullets continue flying overhead as Landon’s body shields mine. I’d never imagined being in an actual gunfight, but here I am, trying not to get killed by a rival drug lord.

“I need your help,” Landon breathes. “This isn’t just about firepower.”

He slides a small device from his pocket—a modified smartphone with custom hardware attachments. I immediately recognize it as a signal jammer with advanced capabilities.

“The garden has electronic locks and security cameras. Orlov’s using them,” Landon explains. “Can you disable them?”

“I need network access,” I say, my mind already racing through possible exploit vectors.

Landon nods toward a utility box mounted on the garden wall. “Service panel. Twenty feet to our left.”

“We’ll be exposed.”

“I’ll cover you.” Landon pulls a sleek handgun from his jacket. “On my signal, we move together.”

When he meets my eyes, there’s respect shining in his.

“Now!”

We move in perfect synchronization, Landon firing at Orlov’s men, while I sprint low toward the utility panel. A bullet grazes the hedge beside me, but Landon’s covering fire keeps their heads down.

I reach the panel and pry it open with trembling fingers. Inside is a standard security terminal—nothing I haven’t hacked before. I connect Landon’s device to the access port and begin typing commands.

“Thirty seconds,” I call to Landon, who’s positioned himself at an angle that protects me while maintaining line of sight to Orlov’s position.

“Twenty more,” he responds, ejecting a magazine and slamming a new one home.

My fingers fly across the screen, bypassing firewalls and authentication protocols. The system architecture is familiar—I’d designed something similar for a client last year.

“Got it!” I exclaim as the garden lights flicker and die. The electronic locks throughout the area click open simultaneously, and I know the security cameras have gone dark.

Landon appears at my side, a dangerous smile playing on his lips. “Well done, little butterfly.”

The security systems go dark. This is our chance, but Orlov’s men are regrouping quickly.

“I need a distraction,” Landon whispers, eyes scanning the garden.

Without hesitation, I grab the signal jammer and hurl it toward the decorative fountain in the center. The device crashes into the water with a spectacular electrical surge, sending sparks flying and illuminating the darkness.

“What the—” One of Orlov’s men turns toward the commotion.

It’s all Landon needs. He moves like a hunter, silent and deadly, tackling the first guard before he can react. In threemovements, Landon disarms him. He uses the man’s own weapon to neutralize a second attacker approaching from the left.

A third guard falls to Xavier, who emerges from the shadows like a ghost. Knox and Vane are moving too, having escaped their captors in the confusion.

“Where’s Jolene?” I scan the darkness.