Chapter 4 - The Clean Break
Within three minutes, Highcrest Manor was transformed from a tranquil bridal gala into a militarized zone. Two matte-black, armored SUVs screeched to a halt at the main entrance, their high-beams slicing through the rain and illuminating the grand marble staircase. Four men in dark tactical gear stepped into the dining room, moving with a silent, synchronized efficiency that made the estate security guards step back with their hands raised.
Julian didn't wait for his men to touch the dog. He slid his arms carefully under Titan’s front and rear quarters, lifting the hundred-and-thirty-pound hound with a surge of physical strength that made the fabric of his suit jacket strain across his shoulders.
"Can you walk?" he asked Clara, looking down at her as she attempted to push herself up from the slippery floor.
Clara tried to stand, but her left knee—slammed into the marble when Vanessa pushed her—gave way under her weight. She stumbled, catching herself against the edge of a banquet chair.
Before she could fall again, one of Julian’s men—a tall, broad-shouldered operative with a scar across his eyebrow—was there, catching her smoothly by the elbow.
"I’ve got her, boss," the man said, his tone respectful and steady.
"Take her to the second vehicle, Marcus. Get a jacket on her," Julian instructed, turning toward the double doors with Titan cradled against his chest.
"Julian, wait! Where are you going?" Vanessa screamed, finally breaking out of her paralyzed shock. She rushed toward the doorway, her bridal heels clicking frantically against the floor. "You cannot leave my gala! My parents are here! The mayor is here! We are supposed to be announcing our wedding date tonight!"
Julian paused at the threshold. He didn't turn his entire body around; he simply looked back over his shoulder, his eyes freezing her in place ten feet away.
"There is no wedding date, Vanessa," he said clearly, ensuring his voice carried to every single corner of the silent pavilion. "There is no wedding. If I ever see you, your father, or anyone from your family within five miles of my properties again, I won't just break our business contracts. I will dismantle your father's real estate company brick by brick until you are all sleeping on the street."
"You can't do that!" she shrieked, her face turning a mottled, ugly red as her social standing disintegrated in front of fifty of her peers. "You need my father's zoning permits for your waterfront project! You're ruining our lives over a stupid dog and a kitchen whore!"
Julian didn't even dignify the outburst with a response. He walked out into the cold October rain, leaving Vanessa Vance screaming into the echoing silence of the dining room while her wealthy guests awkwardly reached for their cell phones to call their drivers.
Outside, the rain was coming down in sheets. Marcus guided Clara into the back seat of the second armored SUV, tossing a heavy, dry fleece jacket over her trembling shoulders before slamming the heavy door shut. The interior smelled of clean leather and gun oil. Through the tinted windshield, Clara watched Julian climb into the lead vehicle with Titan, holding the dog close as the convoy roared to life and sped down the winding mountain road, leaving Highcrest Manor fading into the darkness behind them.
"Drink this," Marcus said from the front passenger seat, handing her a bottle of water and a clean white towel. "You're going into shock from the adrenaline drop. Deep breaths, miss."
May you like
Clara took the water with shaking hands, pressing the dry towel against her blood-soaked blouse. "Where... where are we going? I need to get my car from the staff lot. My purse is in my locker."
"Your car and your personal effects will be retrieved by my team before midnight and delivered to wherever you stay tonight," Marcus replied calmly, his eyes checking the rearview mirror with practiced vigilance. "Right now, Mr. Rostova wants you at the clinic. That dog took a four-inch stiletto heel directly to a torn muscle group. When Titan wakes up from the anesthesia, the boss wants the first face he smells to be the person who kept him alive."
