Chapter 6 - Blood and Smoke
""Get your hands off my sister, Sterling!"" Clara roared, swinging the iron pipe into Arthur’s shoulder with the force of eight years of bottled fury.
Arthur crumpled with a howl of agony. Eleanor broke free, scooping the trembling boy into her arms. He clung to her neck with surprising strength, burying his tear-stained face into her collar.
""Clara! How did you get out of Cranston?"" Eleanor shouted over the echoing screams in the subterranean bay.
""I escaped three days ago when Julian's men tried to transfer me to an isolated facility in Canada!"" Clara yelled, pulling Eleanor toward the battered truck. ""Get in! Now!""
Gunfire echoed in the enclosed concrete garage. The man Eleanor had hit with the wrench was on his feet, drawing a suppressed sidearm. Clara threw the truck into reverse, tires burning rubber against the slick floor. Two bullets shattered the passenger window, glass showering over Eleanor as she shielded the child with her body.
Clara slammed the gas pedal, smashing through the remaining wooden barrier of the delivery exit, bursting into the gray drizzle of dawn.
Eleanor caught her breath, checking the boy franticly. He had no fresh wounds, though his fever was raging and he was shivering uncontrollably.
""Leo,"" Eleanor whispered, brushing the wet hair from his forehead. ""Are you okay, sweetheart?""
The boy looked at her with huge, wondering hazel eyes. ""My name isn't Leo. Mommy Clara told me my name is Liam. But... she said you were my real mommy. The one who sang the song about the swallow and the sea.""
Tears streamed down Eleanor's face. The lullaby had been an original song she sang to him in the nursery, a melody she had never sung to another living soul.
""Liam... Leo... it doesn't matter,"" Eleanor sobbed softly, kissing his temple. ""You're home now. I won't let them take you ever again.""
Clara glanced in the rearview mirror, her eyes hard and vigilant. ""Don't celebrate yet, Ellie. Julian and Sterling control the police in this county. By now, an Amber Alert is out for us. They’ve framed us for kidnapping.""
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Right on cue, Clara’s dashboard radio crackled with a priority police dispatch: All units, be on the lookout for a blue pickup truck. Suspects are armed and considered extremely dangerous. Wanted for the abduction of a minor.
Ahead on the two-lane highway, the flashing red and blue lights of a police roadblock came into view.
