Chapter 5

The air in the grand hall seemed to vanish.

In the deathly silence, the only sound was the low, mechanical hum of the Minigun spinning up.

Carlos stared at the heavy artillery in my hands—a weapon meant to be mounted on an armored vehicle.

His Adam's apple bobbed hard against his stiff neck.

"Isabella?"

His voice trembled, the end of his sentence cracking from absolute disbelief.

"Weren't you locked in—"

I didn't give him the chance to finish.

I squeezed the trigger all the way down.

The barrels spun into a blur. The deafening screech of grinding metal shredded the…