Chapter 17
"Let her go, Marcus."
Julian stepped out of the fog, walking into the dimly lit interior of the mill. He had abandoned the sniper rifle. He held a customized 1911 pistol aimed directly at Marcus’s head. His face was devoid of all humanity; he looked like the Grim Reaper draped in a cashmere coat.
"Drop the gun, Julian!" Marcus yelled, pressing his pistol harder into Clara's neck. "Or she dies right now!"
"If you pull that trigger, Marcus, you won't live to see her fall," Julian stated evenly. He didn't slow his advance. He took a slow, measured step forward.
Marcus panicked. His hand shook. "I'll do it! I swear to God!"
Clara felt the tremor in Marcus's grip. She realized Julian wasn't going to stop. He was forcing Marcus to make a choice. And Clara wasn't going to be a victim waiting to be saved.
She reached into her pocket. She didn't have a gun, but she was a medic. She had palmed a surgical scalpel from the kit before she left the cabin.
With a brutal, twisting motion, Clara slammed the back of her head into Marcus's nose, hearing the cartilage crunch. Marcus stumbled back, firing wildly into the ceiling.
Before he could recover, Clara spun around and drove the scalpel deep into the median nerve of Marcus's gun arm.
Marcus screamed, a horrific sound, dropping the weapon as his arm went completely paralyzed.
Julian closed the distance in a fraction of a second. He kicked the dropped gun across the floorboards. He grabbed Marcus by the throat, lifting the heavier man off his feet, and slammed him against the rusted machinery.
"You stole my money. You burned my launderer," Julian whispered, his voice a demonic rasp. "But you tried to kill her. And for that, there is no ledger."
Julian didn't hesitate. He raised his pistol and fired two rounds point-blank into Marcus's chest.
Marcus slumped to the floor, dead before he hit the wood.
Julian immediately turned to Clara. He dropped his weapon, checking her over frantically, his hands running along her arms, her neck, looking for blood.
"Are you hit? Did he shoot you?" Julian demanded, his icy facade completely shattered by sheer terror.
May you like
"I'm fine," Clara gasped, dropping the bloody scalpel. "I'm fine, Julian."
He pulled her into his chest, burying his face in her hair. It was the tightest he had ever held anyone.
