Chapter 11 - The Blood Cartel
""Arthur Vance's old business partners,"" Julian swore under his breath, racking the slide of his handgun. ""With Victoria arrested, the federal authorities are unsealing the shipping manifests. The cartel knows the Vance empire is vulnerable.""
""Leo,"" Emma said immediately, fear lacing her tone.
""He's in the basement panic room with Marcus,"" Julian said, grabbing Emma's hand. ""We move through the service tunnels. We don't defend this house; we get him out.""
Heavy rifle fire shattered the front entrance. Glass exploded throughout the foyer as heavily armed cartel commandos swarmed the mansion. The Vance security team fought back, but they were vastly outgunned by high-caliber automatic weapons.
Julian and Emma slipped through the concealed panel behind the master library, descending into the narrow brick corridors running beneath the ancient estate. The air down here was damp and smelled of earth.
When they reached the panic room vault, the thick titanium door was partially ajar.
Julian’s blood ran cold. He raised his weapon, stepping cautiously into the chamber. Marcus was slumped against the wall, groaning, holding a shattered shoulder.
""Sir..."" Marcus coughed, blood bubbling on his lips. ""They didn't come through the front. They tunneled into the sewer grid days ago. They took Leo... they're heading toward the river drainage.""
Emma let out an anguished cry, sprinting down the darkened drainage tunnel before Julian could stop her.
""Emma!"" Julian shouted, tearing after her into the dark, echoing abyss.
May you like
The underground pipes were slick with moss and runoff. In the distance, flashlight beams cut through the gloom. Emma ignored the pain in her bullet-grazed shoulder, driven entirely by raw, primal maternal instinct. She rounded a bend and saw three men dragging a crying Leo toward a customized subterranean transport vehicle parked in the old aqueduct.
""Let him go!"" Emma roared, leveling her weapon and firing two rapid shots, dropping the rearguard commando into the rushing drainage water.
