Chapter 9 - The Devil You Know
The gunshot shattered Nora's left side mirror, spraying crystalline fragments across the wet asphalt. She threw her arm up in defense, pressing herself against the center console. She was cornered.
Before the gunman could fire a second round, the deafening blare of a horn split the stormy air.
Julian’s dark grey Audi tore into the pier at breakneck speed, slamming directly into the side of the gunman’s SUV. The sheer force of the collision threw the gunman off his feet and spun the black truck around, clearing a narrow gap between the concrete barriers.
Julian leaped from his battered car, holding an iron tire wrench. ""Nora! Run!"" he screamed, lunging at the recovery gunman who was already scrambling back up from the wet pavement.
Nora stared in shock. Julian’s face was bruised, his clothes torn, looking more desperate than she had ever seen him. He tackled the armed man to the ground, trading brutal blows in the pouring rain.
A siren wailed in the distance, growing louder by the second. Blue and red emergency lights began reflecting against the clouds.
""Move, Mrs. Mercer!"" Detective Vance’s voice crackled from her car speakers. ""Back out of the dock! We have units rolling in right behind you!""
Nora looked at Julian through the rain. He pinned the gunman’s wrist against the asphalt, forcing the weapon loose, but the man pulled a tactical combat knife from his boot, driving it up into Julian’s ribs. Julian let out a strangled gasp, collapsing backward onto the concrete.
May you like
The flashing lights of state police cruisers swarmed the pier entrance, blocking off the area. Tactical officers jumped out, weapons drawn, shouting commands. The assassin dropped the knife, raising his hands in surrender as laser sights locked onto his chest.
Nora kicked open her door and stumbled out into the cold downpour, ignoring the shouts of the officers telling her to stay down. She dropped to her knees beside Julian, who lay on the slick ground, dark blood pooling rapidly beneath his coat.
