Chapter 7 - Ambush at Timber Creek
The black SUV smashed into the rear of Julian’s car, the impact throwing Maya forward. Julian caught her by the shoulder, his seatbelt locking painfully across his chest. Leo began to wail, his small voice echoing in the confined cabin.
"Get down!" Julian yelled, unbuckling and grabbing a tire iron from beneath the driver's seat.
The SUV rammed them again, pushing the car toward the edge of an old logging ravine. Julian kicked his door open into the snowbank, dragging Maya and Leo out the passenger side just as the bumper groaned under another blow.
Two armed operatives exited the SUV, tactical flashlights cutting through the dense snow. "Drop the child, Sterling! Mr. Arthur Sterling ordered the drive secured. He doesn't want loose ends!"
*Arthur ordered this.* Hearing the confirmation from a mercenary’s lips snapped something inside Julian. He didn't see himself as a corporate heir or a disgraced groom anymore; he was a father.
Using the blizzard as cover, Julian crept around the back of the SUV. As the lead gunman stepped past a drift, Julian struck hard with the iron, sweeping the man's legs and bringing the heavy metal down across his shoulder. The weapon flew into the deep snow.
The second man turned, raising a submachine gun. A gunshot cracked from behind Julian.
The second operative collapsed into the snow, clutching his leg. Julian spun around, startled. Standing by the driver's door of the SUV, holding the first guard's dropped sidearm with steady two-handed grip, was Maya. Her knuckles were blue, her eyes cold as flint.
May you like
"Move," Maya said, her voice deadly quiet. "We take their truck."
---
