The night I brought my pregnant mistress into our Manhattan mansion, I expected my wife to scream.

"Time's up, Lucian!" Arthur shouted down the ruined corridor. "I want the ledgers now!"

"Come and get them, Arthur!" I roared back.

The firefight resumed with terrifying intensity.

The mercenaries pushed forward, desperate to end the standoff before the weather worsened.

I fired short, controlled bursts, dropping another man who tried to rush our position. Victor threw a flashbang grenade he had scavenged from the airfield, blinding three operators and allowing us to eliminate them in the confusion.

But our ammo was running dangerously low.

"I'm down to five rounds," Victor announced, his breath coming in heavy, ragged gasps. Blood was seeping through his bandages again.

I checked my own magazine. Eight rounds.

Behind us, Eleanor let out a piercing scream.

I risked a glance back into the barricaded room. She was clutching the bedrails, her face completely pale. The baby was coming right now, in the middle of a warzone.

"Lucian!" Arthur's voice was closer now. He was moving up behind his men. "You can't protect her forever! I will burn this clinic down around you!"

I looked at the heavy leather ledgers resting on the steel counter near Eleanor's bed.

Arthur thought those books were the key to his new empire. He didn't know I had just sold the digital keys to the FBI to buy my family's freedom.

But I needed to buy us the final five minutes until Interpol arrived.

I made the hardest decision of my life.

"Cease fire!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, stepping out from behind the concrete pillar with my hands raised.

"Boss, no!" Victor hissed, grabbing my arm.

"Protect my wife, Victor," I ordered softly, pulling away from him.

I kicked my rifle away and walked slowly into the center of the smoke-filled corridor.

The remaining cartel mercenaries immediately trained their laser sights on my chest. I was entirely exposed, a perfect target.

Arthur Vance stepped through the ranks of his hired killers, looking immaculate despite the chaos around him. He wore a triumphant, vicious smile.

"A noble surrender, Lucian," Arthur mocked, stopping ten feet away from me. "But a bit late to save your pride."

"I don't care about my pride, Arthur," I said, keeping my eyes locked on his. "I care about my wife. You want the ledgers. I want Eleanor and Victor to walk out of here alive."

Arthur laughed, a dry, grating sound.

"You really think you are in a position to negotiate?" Arthur sneered. "I'm going to take the ledgers, and then I am going to watch my men execute your entire bloodline."

He raised his own pistol, aiming it directly between my eyes.

"This is my empire now," Arthur whispered.

Before he could pull the trigger, a blindingly bright searchlight illuminated the shattered windows of the corridor.

The deafening roar of military-grade helicopters shook the foundation of the clinic.