The Museum Job

The Museum Job
Selena's POV
The glass case exploded into a million pieces.
Selena dove behind a stone statue as bullets flew past her head. People screamed and ran in every direction. The fancy art museum turned into a war zone in three seconds.
"Where is she?" a man's voice shouted. "Find the girl!"
Selena pressed her back against the cold marble statue. Her heart hammered so hard she thought it might burst. She was supposed to be safe here. Just looking at boring paintings with her friend Kate from college.
How did they find her?
Heavy boots stomped across the museum floor. Getting closer.
"Check behind every display," another voice said. "Morrison wants her alive."
Morrison. The name made Selena's blood turn to ice. Even after everything that happened at her childhood home, he was still hunting her. Still trying to destroy what was left of her family.
"She can't have gone far," the first man said.
Selena peeked around the statue. Three men in black suits moved through the museum like wolves. They had guns hidden under their jackets. Other visitors were still running and screaming, trying to escape.
Where was Kate? Selena had lost sight of her friend when the shooting started.
One of the men was getting close to her hiding spot. Too close.
Selena looked around for another place to hide. The museum was huge, but there weren't many good spots. Just more statues and paintings on walls.
The man's footsteps stopped right next to her statue.
"I know you're here, little princess," he said in a creepy voice. "Your daddy isn't coming to save you this time."
Selena held her breath. Don't move. Don't make a sound.
The man walked around to her side of the statue. He smiled when he saw her crouched there like a scared rabbit.
"Found you."
He reached for his gun.
That's when the lights went out.
The whole museum plunged into darkness. Emergency lights flickered on, casting weird shadows everywhere.
"What happened to the power?" one of the men yelled.
"I don't know! Keep looking for the girl!"
In the dim light, Selena saw her chance. She crawled away from the statue and hid behind a big display case full of old coins.
But she wasn't alone.
Someone was crouched next to her in the shadows. Someone wearing all black. Someone who moved like a ghost.
"Don't scream," he whispered.
Selena's whole body went cold. She knew that voice.
David. The man who killed her mother. The man who had saved her life. The man who was dying of cancer.
Rook.
"What are you doing here?" she whispered back.
"Keeping you alive."
"I thought you left town."
"I tried. Couldn't do it."
One of Morrison's men walked past their hiding spot. His flashlight beam swept back and forth, looking for them.
David put his finger to his lips. Be quiet.
The man kept walking.
"How many are there?" David whispered.
"Three that I saw."
"Four total. One is watching the exits."
"How do you know that?"
"Because that's what I would do."
David reached into his jacket and pulled out something small and round. A smoke bomb.
"When I throw this, run toward the Egyptian section. There's a back staircase behind the mummy display."
"What about you?"
"I'll handle them."
"There are four of them!"
"I know."
David looked at her with those cold gray eyes. But for just a second, she saw something else there. Something that looked like sadness.
"David, you don't have to do this."
"Yes, I do."
"Why?"
"Because fifteen years ago, I made a mistake that destroyed your life. And I've been trying to fix it ever since."
He pulled the pin from the smoke bomb.
"Run when I tell you to. Don't look back."
"David—"
He threw the smoke bomb. White fog filled the air instantly.
"Run! Now!"
Selena ran. Through the smoke and confusion, past scared visitors and broken glass. She could hear gunshots behind her, but she didn't look back.
The Egyptian section was dark and quiet. Ancient statues of pharaohs and gods stared down at her with empty stone eyes. She found the staircase David mentioned and ran up the steps two at a time.
More gunshots echoed through the museum.
Selena reached the second floor and hid behind a display about ancient Rome. Her hands were shaking. Her legs felt like jelly.
Was David okay? Was he hurt? Was he...?
Don't think about it. Just stay hidden.
But she couldn't help herself. She crept to the railing and looked down at the main floor.
The smoke was clearing. She could see three bodies lying on the ground. Morrison's men.
But where was David?
"Looking for someone?" a voice said behind her.
Selena spun around. The fourth man stood there, pointing a gun at her chest.
"Morrison is going to be so happy to see you," he said.
"Stay back!"
"I don't think so, princess. You've caused us enough trouble."
The man stepped closer. His finger was on the trigger.
That's when David appeared behind him like a shadow.
The man never saw it coming. David grabbed his head and twisted. There was a soft crack, and the man dropped to the floor.
"Are you hurt?" David asked.
"No. Are you?"
"I'm fine."
But he wasn't fine. Selena could see blood on his shirt. And he was breathing hard, like he couldn't get enough air.
"David, you're bleeding."
"It's nothing."
"It's not nothing! You're sick, and now you're hurt, and—"
"Selena."
Something in his voice made her stop talking.
"We need to get out of here. More will come."
They ran down the back staircase and out through an emergency exit. Police sirens wailed in the distance, getting closer.
"My car is two blocks away," David said.
They ran through dark alleys and side streets. David was getting slower. The blood on his shirt was spreading.
"You need a doctor," Selena said.
"I need to get you somewhere safe first."
"I am safe. You saved me."
"This time. But Morrison won't stop. He's got too much to lose."
They reached David's car. An old black sedan that looked like every other car on the street.
"Get in," David said.
As they drove through the city, Selena kept looking at David. His face was pale. His hands gripped the steering wheel too tight.
"Why did you come back?" she asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Tonight. At the museum. You could have stayed away. Let Morrison's men take me."
David was quiet for a long time.
"Because," he finally said, "some things are worth dying for."
"Like what?"
"Like making sure the person you care about gets to live."
Selena felt her heart skip a beat. "You care about me?"
"I care about keeping you safe."
"That's not the same thing."
David pulled the car over and stopped. They were in front of an old church with a tall bell tower.
"Selena, there's something I need to tell you."
"What?"
"Your mother. She's not just alive."
"I know. Morrison told us she's in witness protection."
"That's not all."
David turned to look at her. His eyes were full of pain.
"She's the one who hired Morrison to kill you."
The world stopped spinning.
"What?"
"Your mother made a deal with the FBI. She would help them destroy your father's empire. But she wanted to make sure you couldn't interfere."
"So she hired someone to murder me?"
"She hired someone to fake your death. Make it look like Morrison killed you. Then you would disappear forever, and she could finish her work without worrying about you getting hurt."
Selena couldn't breathe. "But Morrison is really trying to kill me."
"He went rogue. Changed the plan. Decided it would be easier to just eliminate you for real."
"And my mother doesn't know?"
"She has no idea her partner betrayed her."
Selena stared out the car window at the dark street. Everything she thought she knew about her life was wrong. Again.
Her father had let her mother get killed. Except her mother wasn't really dead. And now her mother had tried to have her fake-killed. Except the fake-killer was trying to really kill her.
It was like living inside a nightmare that never ended.
"David?"
"Yeah?"
"I think I'm going to throw up."
But before she could open the car door, her phone rang.
Unknown number.
"Don't answer it," David said.
"What if it's important?"
"It's never good news."
Selena answered anyway. "Hello?"
"Hello, sweetheart."
A woman's voice. Soft and familiar.
Selena's blood turned to ice.
"Mom?"