Chapter 10
The metallic screeching at the front door grew louder, accompanied by the heavy thud of a boot heel kicking against the reinforced frame. The glass bowed inward slightly under the force of the blow, a spiderweb of cracks spreading outward from the deadbolt.
Julian grabbed the heavy wooden baseball bat from where Chloe had dropped it by the entrance. He weighed it in his hand, feeling the solid hickory balance against his calloused palm. He positioned himself directly in front of the splintering glass door, his shoulders squared, his battered frame bracing for the inevitable breach.
Chloe stood frozen a few feet away, tears welling in her eyes as she clutched the apron pocket where the data drive rested. She wanted to argue, to scream, to pull him back into the safety of the diner's interior, but the look in Julian’s eyes brook no argument. It was the look of a man who had finally found his redemption and was willing to spend his last breath to protect it.
"Go, Chloe," Julian whispered without turning around. "Now."
With a final, shattering crash, the deadbolt gave way. The front glass caved inward, showering the checkerboard floor with glittering shards of safety glass. Through the gap stepped Frank and the massive scarred brute, their faces twisted into ugly masks of triumph and malice.
"End of the line, Julian!" Frank roared, raising his wire cutters like a weapon.
Before Frank could take another step forward, Julian swung the baseball bat with every ounce of strength he had left, catching Frank squarely across the shoulder and sending him stumbling back against the doorframe. At the same time, Julian let out a fierce battle cry that echoed off the diner's metal ceiling, drawing the full attention of both attackers squarely onto himself.
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"Over here, you cowards!" Julian shouted, dodging a wild punch from the scarred brute and driving his elbow hard into the giant's ribs.
Seizing the opening, Chloe turned and bolted toward the kitchen doors at the back of the diner. Her sneakers slapped rapidly against the checkered tiles as she crossed the dining room, her heart hammering wildly against her ribs. She didn't look back. She pushed through the swinging kitchen doors, plunged into the warm, humming darkness of the back service hallway, and headed straight for the reinforced steel door of the walk-in freezer room.
