Chapter 6 - Betrayal at the Core
The deafening crack of the rifle made Daniel dive to the floor.
The bullet whizzed past his head and struck the wall behind Marcus.
A man dressed in tactical black gear fell from the ceiling vents.
The assassin dropped a suppressed pistol as his body hit the rug.
Nora rushed into the room and locked the heavy study doors behind her.
"We have less than three minutes before the rest of his team breaches the house," she panted.
Daniel stood up and aimed his handgun directly at Nora's head.
"Give me one good reason not to shoot you," Daniel growled.
Nora dropped the sniper rifle and raised her hands in surrender.
"Because I rigged that tea so you would not drink it," she confessed.
"If I wanted you dead, I would have used a poison that didn't hiss and foam."
"I needed you to make a scene so we could get you out of the house."
Marcus nodded in agreement, holding his injured ribs.
"Nora is an undercover federal agent, Daniel," Marcus explained.
"She was placed in your life to find the money Sarah embezzled before she died."
Daniel felt his reality crumbling around him.
His perfect first wife had been a criminal mastermind.
His new girlfriend was a government spy.
"Why didn't you just tell me?" Daniel asked, lowering his weapon slightly.
"Because the cartel had eyes on you twenty-four hours a day," Nora said.
"If they knew we were working together, they would have killed Lily immediately."
A loud explosion shook the foundation of the house.
The heavy study doors splintered as someone tried to ram them open.
"There is a panic room beneath the floorboards," Marcus yelled over the noise.
He pulled a hidden lever on the bookshelf to reveal a dark stairwell.
"Go, take Nora and survive," Marcus said, pulling out a shotgun.
"I am not leaving you here to die," Daniel argued.
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"You have to," Marcus smiled sadly, cocking the weapon.
"Because the security guards you hired for Lily at the hotel work for the cartel."
