Chapter 8 - The Price of Surrender
Through the ringing in her ears, Lois saw men in black tactical gear flooding the warehouse floor like insects. Julian rolled to his feet instantly, returning fire, taking down two operatives while dragging Jack behind a rusted forklift.
""Lois, get to the back stairs!"" Julian yelled, reloading his magazine with practiced efficiency. ""Go!""
Lois scrambled behind a stack of wooden crates, her scrubs catching on jagged nails. But as she rounded the corner toward the fire escape, a heavy gloved hand clamped over her mouth, dragging her into the shadows.
""Did you miss me, darling?"" Christian Burke’s voice purred into her ear.
He held a titanium surgical scalpel pressed against the carotid artery of her neck, its razor edge drawing a single drop of crimson blood. Behind him stood Eleanor Thorne, draped in a cashmere trench coat, her eyes wide with cold detachment.
""Julian!"" Christian called out into the echoing gunfire. ""Cease fire! Or I carve her throat from ear to ear right in front of your mother!""
The shooting stopped. The silence that followed was suffocating, broken only by the patter of rain leaking through the warehouse roof. Julian stepped out from behind the forklift, his weapon lowered, his gaze locked onto the silver blade pressed into Lois’s pale skin.
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""Let her go, Burke,"" Julian said, his voice terrifyingly calm. ""Take me instead.""
""Oh, Julian,"" Christian sneered, pressing the blade deeper until Lois gasped in pain. ""You don't get off that easily. She’s coming with me to the research facility. Clara is already on the operating table, waiting for her sister's compatible bone marrow.""
