Chapter 8 - The Hidden Beacon
Elena felt a sudden rush of ice flood her veins. She carefully reached into the torn seam of the rabbit’s belly and pulled out the tiny circular disc. The red LED was pulsing at precise one-second intervals.
""Julian,"" Elena said, her voice sharp with sudden panic. ""Look at this.""
Julian glanced in the rearview mirror, his hazel eyes widening. ""Throw it out the window! Now!""
""Wait!"" Elena stopped her hand an inch from the power window switch. ""If we throw it out here on the highway, they'll know we discovered it and immediately change their pursuit tactics. Where does this road lead?""
Julian’s mind calculated the variables in a split second. He took the next exit off the interstate, swerving the heavy SUV onto an unlit access road heading toward the industrial docks of the harbor.
""There's an abandoned cargo depot two miles west,"" Julian said, his knuckles turning white on the steering wheel. ""My logistics company decommissioned it last month. It’s surrounded by shipping containers and blind alleys.""
""A trap?"" Elena asked.
""For them,"" Julian replied, his voice dropping into a dangerous, icy tone. ""They think they're tracking a terrified maid and a wounded businessman. They don't know who I used to be before I wore tailored suits.""
Ten minutes later, the SUV rolled silently into the dark labyrinth of stacked shipping containers. Julian killed the headlights. The harbor fog rolled in thick and suffocating, masking the vehicle from sight.
Julian turned to Elena. ""Take Lily into the control cabin at the top of Crane Four. The access ladder is inside the main tower—invisible from ground level. Bolt the steel hatch and do not open it for anyone except me.""
""Julian, you're bleeding,"" Elena said, reaching out instinctively. Her fingers brushed his temple, touching the gash above his brow. For a fraction of a second, the tension between them shifted from survival to something intimate and electric.
""I’ve survived worse,"" Julian murmured, holding her gaze in the dark cab. ""Keep our daughter safe.""
Elena took the tracker from her pocket. ""What about this?""
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Julian took the blinking device from her hand. ""I’m going to introduce Dr. Vance’s cleanup crew to a dead end.""
He slipped into the fog. Elena scooped Lily into her arms, heading swiftly toward the looming steel silhouette of Crane Four. But as she reached the bottom rung of the ladder, two blinding high beams suddenly flared through the fog, pinning her directly in their glare.
