Chapter 7 - The Midnight Passenger
The heavy brakes of an old, battered pickup truck hissed as it came to a precarious halt, missing Leo by a mere hair. The driver’s side door swung open immediately, and a rugged man in a faded denim jacket hopped out, cursing under his breath.
"What in God's name is a kid in a suit doing out on corporate road in the middle of the night?" the driver muttered, rushing over to lift Leo up by his arms.
Leo struggled instinctively, clutching the brass key to his chest, but the man’s grip, though firm, was surprisingly gentle. "Hey, easy there, little buddy. I'm not going to hurt you. My name is Thomas. I used to work maintenance for your old man years ago, before he cleaned house."
Leo blinked up at him through the fog, recognizing the faded tattoo on the man's forearm from old photographs Clara had once shown him. Thomas was one of the few employees Mr. Vance had wrongfully fired and framed for embezzlement five years ago.
"My dad is coming," Leo panted, pointing frantically back toward the estate gates where flashlights were bobbing in the dark. "He wants to hurt Clara."
Thomas’s expression hardened instantly. He looked back at the imposing iron gates, then down at the terrified five-year-old boy in the oversized suit. Without a word, he scooped Leo up, tossed him into the passenger seat of the truck, and slammed the door shut.
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As Thomas threw the truck into reverse, the passenger side window shattered inward as a bullet punched a clean, deadly hole through the glass.
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