Chapter 12 - The Blackout"Stay down!" Julian hissed, dropping his coffee mug and lunging across the table to shove me to the floor. The ceramic cup shattered against the linoleum, splashing dark liquid across our shoes.
The red emergency lights on the wall flickered to life, bathing the kitchen in a bloody, pulsating glow.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Heavy, rhythmic impacts shook the front security door. It wasn't a battering ram yet—it was something calculated, heavy, and methodical.
"They found us," Julian whispered, his face draining of what little color remained. He drew a standard-issue Glock service pistol from his waistband, his hands steady despite the adrenaline. "The federal safe houses are compromised. Someone inside the bureau leaked our location."
"Where is Chloe?" Panic seized my throat, sharp and suffocating.
"She's in the back reinforced panic room. The agents secured her before the power cut," Julian said, pulling me toward the hallway. "Mom, listen to me. Take the briefcase. Out the back window. There's a drainage culvert that leads to the main road. Flag down the first marked squad car you see."
"I'm not leaving you here!" I snapped, grabbing his arm.
"You have to! If they get that ledger, everything we fought for—every month of hell—is erased!" Julian shouted, pushing me toward the back corridor as the front door gave way with a deafening screech of tearing steel and splintered wood.
Heavy combat boots thudded against the hardwood floor of the living room.
"Clear the sector! Leave no witnesses!" a cold, foreign voice barked out in the darkness.
May you like
Julian spun around, raising his weapon toward the living room archway. "Go! Now!" he roared.
I didn't hesitate. Tears streaming down my face, I grabbed the heavy leather briefcase from the kitchen table and bolted down the back hallway toward the panic room where Chloe was hidden.
