SHE LOCKED US IN WITH A MONSTER

The alleyway erupted into deafening chaos.

Gunfire shattered the SUV’s windows. I didn’t hesitate. I shoved the car door open, clutching the gold ring tightly in my fist, and sprinted toward the side entrance of the cathedral.

Behind me, I heard Salvatore shout as he tackled Paul to the wet pavement.

I hit the heavy oak door of the church. It was unlocked. I threw myself inside, locking the deadbolt behind me.

The sanctuary was pitch black, lit only by the flickering red votive candles along the walls. The sound of the gunfire outside was muffled by the thick stone, but the terror in my chest was deafening.

I ran down the center aisle toward the massive marble altar.

“Under the altar,” Anthony had said.

I reached the sanctuary steps and dropped to my knees. I felt along the intricate carvings at the base of the marble structure. Dust coated my fingers.

“Come on, Anna,” I prayed aloud. “Where did you hide it?”

My fingers brushed against a small, loose stone near the floorboard. I wedged my fingernails under it and pulled. The stone slid out, revealing a small, dark cavity.

I took the wooden rosary bead from the ring. I felt inside the cavity. There was a tiny mechanical lock. I pushed the bead inside and turned it.

With a soft click, a small metal drawer popped open from the marble.

Inside was a leather-bound ledger. And resting on top of it was a metal case containing three vials of clear liquid and sterile syringes.

The antidote.

I grabbed the case and shoved the ledger into the waistband of my scrubs.

As I turned to run back to the doors, the main cathedral entrance burst open.

Lightning flashed outside, illuminating the silhouette of a man stepping into the church.

It was Daniel.

He was limping heavily, clutching his leg where I had injected him with the sedative. But the drugs hadn’t fully taken him down. He was holding a gun, and he looked completely unhinged.

“Give me the ledger, Nurse!” Daniel screamed, his voice echoing off the vaulted ceilings.

I scrambled backward up the altar steps. “Daniel, your grandfather is going to kill your father out there! This antidote can save him!”

“I don’t care about him!” Daniel yelled, firing a warning shot into the ceiling. Plaster rained down on the pews. “I care about the billions of dollars in that book! Hand it over!”

I clutched the metal case to my chest. I was trapped.

Daniel began limping up the aisle toward me, raising his gun to aim directly at my chest.

“You’re just collateral damage, Ellen,” Daniel sneered.

He pulled the hammer back.