Chapter 10 - Blood on the Asphalt
The firefight lasted less than ninety seconds, but to Cole Maddox, it felt like an eternity in hell.
Julian Vance moved through the industrial shadows like a lethal phantom. He didn't waste ammunition. Every time his weapon fired, another of Sterling’s mercenaries collapsed. When one of the gunmen tried to flank Dennis from behind an old spray booth, Julian closed the distance in three silent strides, grabbed the barrel of the man’s rifle, redirected it into the floor, and drove a combat blade straight beneath the man’s tactical vest.
The mercenary dropped with a choked gasp.
Dennis Crowley emptied his magazine into the driver of the lead SUV. The vehicle roared, its tires spinning uselessly against the grease-slicked floor before stalling out in a cloud of white radiator steam.
The remaining two gunmen, realizing they were outmatched and outmaneuvered, scrambled back into the second SUV, threw it into reverse, and sped backward out through the shattered doorway, the tires smoking as they tore away into the Queens streets.
Silence fell over the shop, broken only by the dripping of hot oil and Cole’s ragged, sobbing gasps.
Julian stepped over the bodies, his trench coat untouched, his breathing steady. He holstered his weapons and wiped his blade clean on a discarded rag.
He walked over to where Cole was curled behind the tool chest. He reached down, grabbed Cole by the scruff of his collar, and hoisted him to his feet as if he weighed nothing at all.
"Look at them, Cole," Julian ordered, forcing Cole to look down at the dead mercenary lying on the concrete.
Cole trembled, his eyes wide and bloodshot. "Sterling... those are Victor’s men."
"Victor Sterling sent his elite cleaners to put two bullets in the back of your brain and dump your body into the East River," Julian said coldly. "He doesn't want you testifying. He doesn't want you alive to sign over the probate accounts."
"Why did you save me?" Cole cried out, his voice cracking. "Why would Nora save me after what I did?"
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Dennis Crowley walked up, his expression hardened into stone. "Because Miss Bellamy believes in proper justice, Cole. A bullet in an alley is too clean for a traitor. You have an appointment at the Bellamy Trust Building. And this time, you will walk in on your knees."
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