Chapter 5 - Siege at Somerset HouseThe Maybach tore through the empty midnight streets, its headlights cutting through the heavy fog like scalpels. Elliot drove with reckless fury, his foot pressed hard against the floorboards, ignoring speed limits and traffic lights.
Faster. Please God, let me be fast enough.
When the wrought-iron gates of Somerset House came into view, Elliot slammed on the brakes, throwing the car into a hard slide across the gravel courtyard.
The scene unfolding before him made his blood freeze.
Two unmarked black SUVs were parked blocking the main entrance. Men in tactical gear, faces covered in black balaclavas, were hauling screaming staff members out of the building. Margaret Hollis was tied to a chair near the front steps, a gag muffled her cries.
And coming down the front steps, carrying a kicking, screaming little girl wrapped in a blanket, was a heavily built operative holding a silenced pistol.
Lily was clutching her rag doll so hard her small knuckles were stark white. "Let me go! Mister Vance! Help me!"
"Lily!" Elliot screamed, flinging the car door open and charging forward.
The lead operative turned, raising his weapon. But Elliot didn't stop. Years of corporate ruthlessness had taught him how to survive in boardroom warfare, but tonight, primal survival took over. As the operative pulled the trigger, the bullet grazed Elliot's shoulder, tearing through his expensive coat and biting into his flesh.
Pain exploded across his collarbone, but adrenaline kept him moving.
Elliot lunged forward, tackling the operative hard against the brick pillar of the porch. The pistol flew from the man’s hand, clattering across the wet pavement. Elliot unleashed a flurry of brutal, desperate punches, driven by thirty years of guilt, rage, and protective fury, until the man slumped unconscious against the wall.
"Mr. Vance!" Margaret sobbed through her gag as Elliot scrambled to untie her.
May you like
Elliot ripped the cloth from her mouth, untied her hands, and spun around to face the second operative, who was now holding Lily by the collar, pressing a knife against her tiny throat.
"Step back, Vance!" the second operative barked, his voice trembling slightly. "One step closer, and the kid bleeds out right here. Hand over the doll. Boss wants the evidence."
