Chapter 3 - Blood and Steel
The sudden blast of the horn startled Leo, whose shrill cry pierced the damp night air. Elena instinctually turned her back to the blinding headlights, hunching over the child to form a human shield.
Julian didn't hesitate. He thrust Elena back inside the concrete threshold of the service door. ""Stay inside. Lock it from the interior.""
""Julian, no!"" Elena protested, terror clutching her throat. ""You can't take them alone!""
""Lock it!"" he commanded, slamming the heavy fire door shut.
Elena heard the latch catch with a heavy metallic click. Through the narrow reinforced-glass window of the fire exit, she watched the nightmare unfold in stark black and white. Three men in dark tactical jackets stepped out of the SUV. The leader was Marcus Vance—Julian’s half-brother—his sneer sharp and arrogant even under the sodium-vapor alley lights.
""You're making this terribly complicated, brother,"" Marcus’s voice carried faintly through the glass. ""Give the boy up. A bastard child with an obscure waitress holds no place at the Vance table.""
Julian stood his ground, his silhouette immovable against the headlights. ""He carries the bloodline, Marcus. And as long as I draw breath, you will never touch him.""
""Then you won't draw breath for long,"" Marcus replied coldly, raising his hand in a dismissive gesture.
The two enforcers lunged forward. Julian met the first with a savage blow to the jaw, spinning the man into the brickwork, but the second man closed the distance with a collapsible baton. A sickening thud echoed through the alley as the baton caught Julian across the shoulder. He staggered, dropping to one knee.
Elena hammered her fist against the safety glass, sobbing, while Leo wailed against her chest.
Marcus walked casually toward Julian, drawing a silenced handgun from his coat. But before he could raise it, the loud scream of police sirens ripped through the city avenues, accompanied by flashing blue-and-red reflections bouncing off the wet asphalt.
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Marcus swore under his breath, holstering his weapon. He leaned down, whispering something into Julian's ear, then retreated to the SUV as the vehicle threw itself into reverse and sped into the night.
Julian dragged himself up against the wall, clutching his shoulder. As Elena threw the door open, he stumbled in, his shirt torn and his breath shallow. ""We have twenty minutes... before the local precinct realizes that call was forged.""
