“Julian!” Evan shouted toward the closed door. “We need to go! The alarms are active!”

There was no answer from inside, only the rhythmic hum of the oxygen machine.

Lorenzo glanced down at the dropped Glock, then back at Evan.

“If you pull that trigger, Morris, you’ll never leave this estate alive,” Lorenzo said.

“The gates are already open,” Evan said, though his voice lacked confidence. “I bypassed the security system from the basement.”

“You think my men obey a computer?” Lorenzo asked.

He took another slow, deliberate step forward.

“They obey me,” Lorenzo said.

Evan’s chest rose and fell rapidly.

“Stay back!” Evan yelled, his finger tightening on the trigger.

I saw the tension in his hand and knew he was about to panic.

I drove my heel down onto Evan’s foot with all the force I had left.

He gasped, his grip loosening just enough for me to duck my head.

Lorenzo lunged.

He tackled Evan, the weight of both men crashing into the drywall.

The revolver fired, the bullet ricocheting off the ceiling plaster.

Dust rained down on us, blinding and white.