Chapter 9 - Siege at Dawn
The emergency battery backup inside the vault kicked on with a dull red glow, bathing the room in an ominous crimson light. Outside the reinforced door, the echo of heavy boots crunched across broken glass on the hangar floor.
""Christian, they cut the lines!"" Maya whispered in a panicked hiss, pulling a small semi-automatic pistol from her shoulder holster. ""The exterior cameras are completely dead!""
Christian didn't panic. He moved with cold, calculated efficiency, walking over to a hidden gun rack beneath the metal shelves. He racked the slide of a sleek tactical shotgun and tossed a spare handgun to Maya. ""Take Ava to the emergency egress hatch behind the server rack. It leads to the drainage culvert behind the runway.""
""I’m not leaving you,"" Ava said, rising to her feet, an unexpected fire burning behind her bruises. For a year, she had cowered in bed, letting Eleanor degrade her, strike her, and starve her. She had endured the humiliation because she thought Julian was gone and there was nothing left to fight for. But Julian had fought for her until his last breath. She was done running.
""Ava, Marcus isn't here to negotiate,"" Christian said, his eyes locking onto hers with fierce intensity. ""He’s here to burn this hangar to the ground so that Julian’s evidence turns to ash. If you die, Eleanor inherits everything, Marcus gets paid, and Julian's death is buried forever.""
A loudspeaker crackled from the darkness of the main hangar floor, carrying Marcus’s gravelly, mocking voice. ""Little brother! I know you're in there playing hero! Eleanor wants her girl back, Christian. Hand Ava over, and maybe I’ll let you walk out of here with your law license intact. Keep playing the white knight, and I’ll bury you right beside Julian!""
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Christian stepped toward the vault entrance, his weapon raised. ""Maya, move her! Now!""
A volley of automatic gunfire slammed into the outer steel plating of the vault door, sending sparks showering into the red-lit chamber.
