The Korean boss poured one pot of coffee over the woman who tried to bury his barista and then handed her the key to his empire

The sound of the glass breaking was followed by the harsh, metallic clatter of an automatic weapon.

Dojin reacted before Grace could even register the sound. He lunged across the desk, throwing his weight over her, his body slamming her down onto the carpet as a hail of bullets tore through the plaster walls above her head.

"Stay down!" Dojin hissed, his hand clamping over her neck as he dragged her behind the heavy mahogany desk.

The office was dark, the only light coming from the streetlamps outside. Through the shattered door, Grace could hear the heavy, frantic footsteps of two men. They were speaking in rapid, low-voiced Korean.

"They're from the Seoul faction," Dojin whispered, his hand reaching into his jacket and drawing a sleek, black semi-automatic pistol. His face was entirely different now—the calm, corporate executive had vanished, replaced by the lethal, cold-eyed predator she had heard about in the lobby whispers. "My uncle’s men. They think that if they remove me now, they can claim Sinclair Tower before the transfer is finalized."

"Dojin..." Grace gasped, her heart slamming against her ribs.

"Listen to me, Grace," he said, his hand cupping her cheek, his thumb rubbing her skin with a desperate, fierce tenderness. "I am going to move toward the corridor. When I fire, you run for the private elevator behind the reception desk. Do you understand?"

"No," she said, grabbing his sleeve. "You can't go out there."

"I am the target, Grace. If I stay here, they will kill us both."

He didn't wait for her consent.

Dojin lunged out from behind the desk, firing three rapid shots into the darkness. A man screamed in the corridor, followed by the heavy thud of a body hitting the floor.

"Go!" Dojin roared.

Grace scrambled to her feet, her heart in her throat as she ran through the shattered glass of her door. She didn't look back, but she could hear the deafening roar of gunfire behind her, the bright, white flashes of muzzle fire illuminating the dark offices like lightning.

She reached the private elevator, her fingers slamming into the biometric scanner.

The door opened. She lunged inside, her back hitting the steel wall as she looked out at the corridor.

Through the dust and smoke, she saw Dojin.

He was standing near the reception desk, his gun raised, but there was a dark, spreading stain of red across the left shoulder of his gray suit jacket. He fired one last shot, then the elevator doors slid closed, sealing her into the silence once more.