Chapter 6 - Shadows on the Porch
""Turn off the lantern,"" Julian whispered urgently.
He lunged forward, smothering the oil lamp with a damp cloth and kicking ash over the lower embers of the fireplace. The room plunged into deep, eerie blue moonlight filtering through the sleet.
Lucy shrank back against the sofa, pulling the blanket up to her chin. Her eyes were wide with terror, but she didn't make a sound. Olivia tried to sit up, her breath hitching painfully in her chest. ""They tracked the car... Julian, they found us.""
""Impossible,"" Julian muttered, moving toward the side window. ""The Charger has no tracking system.""
He parted the heavy linen curtain by a millimeter. At the base of the gravel driveway sat an unmarked black SUV, its engine idling silently in the snow. Two figures emerged, clad in tactical winter jackets, carrying silenced sidearms. They weren't police; they were private security contractors from Hale International's asset protection division.
Julian remembered the vintage shotgun his grandfather used to keep mounted over the gun cabinet. He moved swiftly across the room, unlocked the cabinet with a small key hidden behind the mantelpiece, and retrieved the double-barreled twelve-gauge. He cracked the breach; two red shells sat snugly inside the chambers.
""Julian, no,"" Olivia choked out, clutching his sleeve. ""They'll kill you. Victoria’s father used these men in South America. They don't leave witnesses.""
""They won't touch my family,"" Julian replied, his voice chillingly calm. It was a calmness born from having nothing left to lose.
A sharp knock resonated through the thick oak front door. Three deliberate raps, followed by a pause.
""Mr. Vance,"" a muffled, cultured voice called through the wood. ""Open the door. Mrs. Vance has made it very clear that she only wishes to resolve this matter amicably. The young girl belongs with family. We have legal documents giving her custody.""
""Lucy has a father,"" Julian shouted back, leveling the shotgun at chest height through the reinforced wood. ""And her mother is alive. Step off this porch or you leave in body bags.""
May you like
A heavy sigh came from the other side. ""Regrettable.""
Before Julian could blink, the lower panel of the door splintered violently inward under a battering ram, followed instantly by the hollow hiss of a flashbang grenade skittering across the floorboards.
