Chapter 13 - Blood and Steel
The bullet didn't come from Julian’s gun. It slammed into the concrete inches from the woman’s boots, fired from the open side door of the helicopter. A mercenary leaned out of the aircraft's bay, his rifle trained not on Julian, but on the woman in the red dress.
"Board the aircraft with the asset, or we leave you both!" a distorted voice shouted through the helicopter’s external speaker.
She realized too late that she was never an heir to the syndicate—she was merely a courier, just as disposable as anyone else. Terror flashed across her eyes as the sniper adjusted his aim directly toward her skull.
Julian didn't hesitate. He lunged across the wet tarmac, throwing his body between the sniper's barrel and the baby. A second shot cracked through the storm, tearing through the meat of Julian’s left shoulder with the heat of a branding iron. The impact spun him around, but he drove forward, slamming into the sister and knocking them both onto the roof deck beneath the overhang of the staircase, out of the sniper’s line of sight.
The baby began to wail, her cries sharp and fierce against the howling wind. Julian, blood pouring down his arm, scrambled to his knees and pulled the infant out of the sister’s trembling grasp, tucking Maya against his chest beneath his torn jacket.
The sister lay against the metal stairs, clutching a grazing wound on her forearm, staring at Julian with wide, terrified eyes.
"They're not going to let any of us leave," she choked out.
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Above them, the helicopter lifted off into a hover, its heavy nose pivoting toward the staircase, its mounted spotlights locking onto their hiding spot.
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