Chapter 10
The sight of her brother standing upright despite his injuries gave Elena a surge of fierce hope, but the immediate danger was far from over. The security guard swore loudly, drawing his baton from its holster as he charged directly toward Julian down the narrow aisle between the lockers.
"Julian, watch out!" Elena screamed, forgetting her own concealment as she sprang out from behind the concrete pillar.
Julian didn't flinch. As the guard swung the heavy baton in a wide, vicious arc aimed at his shoulder, Julian ducked low and swung the iron pipe with a dull, echoing crack against the guard's knee. The man let out a sharp cry of agony, collapsing onto the concrete floor as his flashlight skidded across the ground, illuminating the dusty boots of the terminal basement.
Before the guard could recover, Julian was over him, pinning the man's arm behind his back with practiced efficiency.
"Stay down," Julian growled, breathing heavily through his bruised nose. "One more move and I break your collarbone."
Elena rushed forward, pulling Leo close behind her while Clara emerged from the shadows, her face pale and her hands shaking uncontrollably.
"Julian!" Elena cried, dropping the briefcase to throw her arms around her brother’s neck, careful not to jostle his injured shoulder. "Thank God you're alive. They said you were missing, they sent threatening texts..."
"I had to drop off the radar, El," Julian explained quickly, keeping one eye on the subdued guard on the floor. "Arthur and his development syndicate found out I backed up the zoning files to an offsite drive. They kidnapped me from my workshop yesterday and held me in an abandoned warehouse across town. I managed to pick the lock about an hour ago."
Julian looked over at Clara, his expression hardening into a mask of pure disappointment as he took in her golden satin top and terrified expression.
"And you," Julian said coldly, pointing a finger at his sister-in-law. "I saw you signing paperwork with Arthur yesterday afternoon. Don't tell me you didn't know what they were doing to our family."
Clara burst into tears, her composure finally shattering completely as she slid down the concrete wall until she was sitting on the filthy floor. "They promised me a bonus, Julian! The divorce left me with nothing, and I was desperate! I didn't know they were going to hurt anybody!"
"Desperation doesn't give you the right to sell out your own home," Julian retorted sharply, before turning his attention back to Elena. "We don't have much time. Arthur knows I escaped. If we don't get those files to the district attorney's office before midnight, the entire building goes under."
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Leo looked up at his uncle, holding out the brass key they had found earlier. "Uncle Julian, does this mean we get to keep our apartment?"
Julian managed a tired, reassuring smile, kneeling down to ruffle the boy's hair. "We're going to do a lot better than that, buddy. We're going to take their whole operation down."
