The Royal Elite: Mattias by Danielle Bourdon Page B

stepped over Barrett's leg and crouched next to the body. He used his fingers to feel for a pulse. Mattias found a heartbeat, thready and weak but viable.
    Springing to a stand, he shouldered out the door, on the hunt for help.
    “Mattias!”
    Chayton's voice registered just as Mattias tensed for a fight. Easing his defensive posture, he faced his brethren. On silent feet, Chayton closed the distance.
    “Barrett's down,” Mattias said once Chayton drew up at his side. But Chayton didn't stop. He put a hand against Mattias's shoulder and herded him further down the hall with clear urgency.
    “We've got bigger problems. Our upstairs lookout was struck from behind and then got dragged into an empty suite. He's alive, but Alannah's not in her room. Someone knows we were watching her. She's probably in immediate danger, so I hope you know where she is.”
    Mattias stopped at the end of the corridor, where two closed doors and a hallway led different directions. Hissing a curse, Mattias said, “I was just behind them. She left the party with some other man. So far, I haven't found them.”
    “Did you get a good look at the man?”
    “Like everyone else, he had a mask on. I didn't recognize anything else about him that made me think I've seen him here before.” No distinct tells, nothing to give the identity away. “But the fact that Barrett is out cold, along with the lookout, proves the rumors were right.”
    “Exactly. She is in danger. I—wait. What's that noise?” Chayton paused and tilted his head.
    In the distance, the faint sound of music and voices echoed into the hall from the party. It was another sound that Mattias latched onto, the same sound he suspected Chayton heard. A rumble not unlike an earthquake, except the ground wasn't shaking.
    “The bay doors in the garage. Someone opened them manually.” Mattias broke into a run with Chayton on his heels. Considering the late hour and that most other guests were busy with parties, Mattias would have bet a year's pay that the garage door had to do with Alannah and her 'companion'. Ripping off the mask, he threw it to the side and pulled a firearm from a holster hidden beneath his tuxedo coat.
    “Mattias. I'm going to cut through and hit the front. If you don't stop him, I may be able to before he gets completely off the property.” Chayton veered away at the last second, light footed, and disappeared down another hallway.
    Mattias kept moving. He knew where the entrance to the garage was. Hitting the door, he went through low but fast, weapon out in front. Tail lights flashed on a red Jaguar driving toward the open bay at the end of the garage. Mattias wasted no time. He stopped, aimed for a back tire, and fired. The bullet hit metal instead of rubber when the Jaguar turned out of sight onto the drive.
    Mattias rushed toward a parked Mustang, new and shiny, sitting close by. He knew the staff kept the keys on the floorboards for easy access. Dropping into the driver's seat, he angled the gun between the slim space beside the console, felt around the floor until he found the keys, and jammed the right one into the ignition. Peeling out of the space, he sped to the opening and swerved around the corner, hot in the Jaguar's tail. As he picked up speed, he caught a glimpse of tail lights through the foliage lining the drive.
    The gate loomed a quarter mile ahead, already open.
    Open, as if someone expected to leave the property tonight. Warning bells went off somewhere distant in Mattias's mind, but he ignored them in favor of getting Alannah back alive.
    Out of the corner of his eye, through the darkness, Mattias saw a flash of motion in the yard. It had to be Chayton, heading for the gate. He wasn't going to make it in time to stop the Jaguar.
    The vehicles tore down the drive and fishtailed onto the road in front of the manor. Mattias caught up to the Jaguar in the turn and nudged the car's bumper with his own. Metal whined. The Jaguar's back end swerved