Page 56 of Maximum Bet

“Only by a couple of weeks,” Natalie soothes, regaining her composure. “I was a full five weeks early, and I am totally fine.”

I smile gratefully at her as Sadie nods halfheartedly.

“Adam,” I say. More gunshots are fired in the background. “Go get Sam and the car. We’ve got to get Sadie out of here.”

Conflicted, Adam looks between Cecilia and me before groaning and pulling out his phone. “Sam, pull the car up front. Sadie’s in labor, and we’ve got to get her out of here.”

“Let’s go.” Cecilia wraps an arm around Sadie on one side while I grab the other.

Natalie follows behind and grabs Sadie’s purse off a nearby table, muttering that she might need it. I don’t worry about mine. I doubt the men storming the Tariello compound are looking to steal women’s wallets.

In the foyer, Adam tells us to wait out of sight of the transparent glass front door. Weapon drawn, he creeps forward, putting himself between us and any waiting enemy.

Slowly, he opens the door and scans the driveway. From my spot, I can see Sam waiting in Dominic’s Escalade, parked as close to the door as he can get.

“When I say go, all of you run, got it? You get in on the passenger side as fast as possible,” Adam instructs.

Sadie whimpers and reaches for my hand, squeezing it in a death grip.

“We’re right here with you,” I promise. I check with Cecilia, who gives me an affirmative nod.

Adam makes a run for it, crossing the few feet between the Escalade and us. As he reaches for the backseat handle, a nearby guard hollers out a warning.

Adam reaches for his weapon, but before he can get a shot off, the sound of gunfire ricochets off the house, and Adam falls to his knees, crimson pooling on the shoulder of his white button-down.

“Oh, my God!” Natalie cries. Sadie screams and grabs her stomach while Cecilia and I curse and share horrified looks.

“Get out of the doorway,” Cecilia orders as more bullets rain down on the Escalade, blowing out the back window. Samjumps out, quickly taking cover behind the open car door, and returns fire.

We stumble inside the house as Cecilia closes and locks the door. “The glass is bulletproof,” she says. “But we don’t have much time.”

“What do we do?” I flinch as a loud pop permeates the air—a car tire blown. “Do we have time to get to the safe room?”

Sadie wails and squeezes my left arm while I try to hold her up with my right.

Cecilia shakes her head. “We’ve got to get her out of here. Come on.”

Guiding Sadie and forging a path for Natalie and me, Cecilia heads toward the kitchen. Inside, the catering staff huddle together behind the elaborate island and inside the pantry.

“Don’t worry,” Cecilia calls out. “Our men will have the intruders dealt with shortly!”

If I weren’t so terrified, I’d laugh at her chipper tone.

“This way.” She urges us down a short hallway to our left. “On the other side of that door is the garage.”

Natalie runs ahead, pushing her ear against the wood before taking the handle. “I don’t hear anything. I think we’re okay.”

She twists the handle slowly as the rest of us press against the wall. Sadie’s ragged breath is the only sound.

When nothing happens, we peek through the door and find a garage filled with cars and bikes, but not a living soul.

“Let’s go.” Cecilia braces herself to help Sadie down the step leading to the epoxied floor. “My car is the BMW in the corner.”

Sadie’s weight makes my back ache as we drag her all the way across the massive garage. Cecilia gives Natalie instructions to retrieve the car keys from a hook on the wall. The BMW unlocks with a double beep, and Natalie hurries over to open the back door.

“I’ll sit with Sadie,” I say as Cecilia and I maneuver to get her into the car.

Once Sadie’s settled, I run to the opposite side and throw myself in next to her.