Chapter 4 - The High-Speed Pursuit
Julian didn't wait for his lawyers. The moment Camille was escorted off the property, he jumped into his armored black SUV, his heart hammering against his ribs. Something felt wrong. The police car that had taken Mara and Ivy wasn't heading toward the downtown precinct. He was tracking the vehicle via the city’s traffic camera feed, which his head of security, Marcus, was monitoring live from the front seat.
"Sir," Marcus said, his hands flying across a military-grade laptop. "The squad car just took the exit toward the old industrial shipping yards. That’s completely out of the precinct's jurisdiction."
Julian’s grip tightened on the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. "They aren't real cops. Arthur Rourke bought them."
"Sir, there’s another vehicle following them. A black van with no license plates. They’re boxing the squad car in."
"Put your foot down, Marcus!" Julian ordered, throwing his own weight against the seat as the SUV roared to life, tearing down the highway at breakneck speed.
Meanwhile, inside the fake police cruiser, Mara knew something was terribly wrong. The two 'officers' in the front seat had stopped talking. The driver was looking anxiously in his rearview mirror.
"Hey! This isn't the way to the station!" Mara shouted, holding Ivy tightly against her chest. Ivy was crying, sensing her mother's terror.
"Shut up back there!" the driver yelled back.
Suddenly, the black van pulled ahead of the squad car, slamming on its brakes. The driver of the squad car swerved violently, tires screeching against the asphalt of the abandoned shipping yard. The car spun out of control, slamming into a rusted shipping container with a deafening crash of metal and breaking glass.
Mara screamed, throwing her body over Ivy to shield her as the windows shattered.
Dazed, with blood trickling down her forehead from hitting the seat in front of her, Mara looked up. The two fake cops were unconscious, the airbags deployed. Outside the shattered window, the side doors of the black van slid open. Three men in ski masks stepped out, carrying heavy crowbars and weapons.
"Get the girl and the kid," one of them ordered. "Make it look like an accident. A botched robbery."
Mara hugged Ivy, closing her eyes, praying for a miracle. Julian, she thought desperately. Please, Julian.
Just as the men reached for the door handle, a thunderous roar echoed through the yard.
Julian’s armored SUV smashed through the chain-link fence of the yard, barreling directly toward the attackers. The men scattered as the massive vehicle rammed into the black van, flipping it onto its side with an explosion of sparks.
Marcus leaped out of the passenger side, weapon drawn, firing warning shots into the air. "Federal security! Drop your weapons or you will be neutralized!"
The masked men, realizing they were completely outmatched, fled into the labyrinth of shipping containers.
Julian threw his door open before the SUV had even fully stopped. He ran to the wrecked police car, tearing the jammed door off its hinges with a strength fueled by pure adrenaline.
"Mara! Ivy!" he cried out, pulling them out of the wreckage.
Mara collapsed into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably. "Julian... they tried to kill us... they tried to kill our baby..."
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Julian froze, the word 'our' ringing in his ears like a beautiful, definitive symphony. He gathered both of them into his arms, holding them tightly against his chest. "I’ve got you. I’m never letting you go again."
HOOK: As Marcus checks the glove box of the fake police car for evidence, he pulls out a burner phone. A call is coming in. The caller ID reads: Arthur Rourke. Julian answers it, and Arthur’s voice fills the air: "Is it done? Are they dead?"
