Chapter 13
On the other side of the reinforced steel door, the assault was relentless. The rhythmic, deafening crash of the iron crowbar slamming against metal echoed through the small walk-in room like the strikes of a blacksmith’s hammer. With every blow, the steel door shuddered, the frame warping slightly inward, spraying tiny flakes of gray primer onto the concrete floor.
Chloe pressed herself flat against the back shelving unit, her breath coming in short, shallow gasps. She scanned the room frantically for anything she could use as a weapon, her fingers brushing against a heavy metal meat hook hanging from the ceiling rack. She unhooked it with a quiet clink, gripping the cold iron shaft in her scraped hand. It wasn't a baseball bat, but it had a sharp, curved point that meant business.
Outside in the hallway, Frank’s angry shouts mixed with the low, rumbling curses of the scarred brute. But beneath the cacophony of the attack, Chloe heard something far more terrifying: absolute silence from Julian.
Had they broken him? Had the brutal, uneven fight finally taken its toll, silencing the only person standing between her and these violent men? A knot of pure dread tightened in her stomach, threatening to paralyze her limbs. She couldn't let herself believe it. Julian was tougher than they gave him credit for; he had survived a corporate conspiracy and a hundred-mile chase through the rain. He wouldn't go down without a fight.
Suddenly, the crowbar strikes stopped. A heavy, pregnant silence fell over the service hallway, more unnerving than the violence that preceded it.
"Smart girl," Frank’s voice echoed through the metal door, right up against the seam where Chloe stood. "You think hiding behind a vault door is going to save you? We don't even need to pick this lock. We brought a cutting torch from the truck. It'll take five minutes to melt right through the hinges."
Chloe’s heart skipped a beat. A cutting torch. Against an industrial steel door, a torch would burn through the locking mechanism like a hot knife through butter. She had mere minutes before the heat started radiating through the metal.
May you like
"You're making a big mistake," Chloe called out through the door, her voice surprisingly steady, carrying a clear, defiant ring that surprised even her. "The state police are already on their way. They intercepted my transmission twenty minutes ago. You're out of time, Frank."
A sharp, humorless laugh echoed from the hallway. "Little girl, you think a washed-out highway is going to stop a squad car in time? By the time the state troopers clear the mudslides thirty miles north, we'll be long gone with that drive, and you'll just be another tragic headline in the morning paper."
