Chapter 313
A roar tore from Lucas's chest—primal, barely contained.
Like a lion pushed past its limit, he slammed his fist into the floor-to-ceiling window.
"Owen!"
Lucas roared into the empty air, his voice hoarse and warped with rage. "I'll give you what you want! Everything! The money! I'll lift the warrant! I'll do it now!"
On the other end of the screen, Owen finally smiled—satisfied, cruel.
He loved watching these privileged elites squirm under his boot.
"Now that's more like it, Mr. Sharp." Owen's tone dripped with condescension. "You should've realized sooner—you're out of your league."
Owen wasn't done. He twisted the knife.
"You know, the way you look right now… reminds me of your late mother."
"Oh, right. Forgot to mention."
Owen's smile widened, like he'd just remembered something hilarious.
"Your high-and-mighty mother… she didn't have to die. My people went in. Switched her medication."
Lucas slowly turned around.
The breakdown, the fury—it was draining away.
He stared at the screen. At Owen, still gloating. And his lips curved into a smile.
Cold. Endless.
"Is that so."
"Then I should thank you."
"Thank you for giving me a reason to tear you apart piece by piece."
Ten minutes later, David's message came through.
No preamble. Just precise coordinates and one line.
"Dock Three, Section B, Warehouse 17. Cracked Juliana's signal."
Lucas called back.
Owen straightened when the screen lit up again. He assumed Lucas was finally ready to surrender. Ready for Owen to savor the hunt.
"Figured it out, Mr. Sharp?"
"Owen."
Lucas's voice was calm. Like reading a weather report.
"Dock Three, Section B, Warehouse 17. Look up through the skylight. You should see a police drone hovering. Infrared mode. Thirty meters behind you, by the water pipes—my sniper's in position. And that getaway truck outside? Tires were spiked five minutes ago."
Lucas paused. Giving Owen time to process.
"Oh, and that guy next to you—Beck? His sister's in college. The other one, Scorpion? Wife just had a baby. Bayport Third Hospital."
"Think you still have twenty-four hours?"
Owen's pupils shrank to pinpoints.
He jerked his head up. Through the dusty skylight, he saw it—a faint red dot blinking in the night.
His men panicked, hands going to their guns.
A trap.
"Kill them! Do it now!" Owen screamed, face twisted. "They all die! No one gets out!"
Beck raised the pipe and charged at Juliana again.
This time, there was no mockery in his eyes. Only cornered madness.
Juliana shrank back, shoulder screaming in pain. Nowhere to go.
The pipe swung down—
A shadow lunged from the side.
Kate.
She hadn't been unconscious. The blow had only knocked her out briefly. Now, survival instinct and adrenaline surged through her.
Kate didn't try to block. She couldn't.
Like a cornered wolf, she hooked her bound hands around Beck's ankle and sank her teeth into his calf.
Not an attack. A mauling.
Beck's scream was shrill. The pain threw him off balance. The pipe veered off course, missing Juliana's face and slamming into the concrete. Sparks flew.
"Useless!"
Owen pulled his gun and fired into the chaos.
BANG.
The gunshot echoed through the warehouse.
Kate's body jerked. Her teeth released.
A bloom of red spread across her back.
She crumpled like a leaf torn from a branch.
Still.
At the same moment, the warehouse doors exploded.
Special forces flooded in—night vision, assault rifles, moving like a wave.
Flashbangs. Smoke grenades. Blinding light and deafening noise disoriented the kidnappers.
"Police! Don't move!"
Owen panicked. He saw the tactical team descending. One thought.
Run.
He abandoned Juliana, Kate, the injured Beck. Grabbed Scorpion—the only one still calm—and bolted for the escape route. A hidden drainage tunnel.
In the chaos, Juliana wrenched free of the loosened zip ties.
She glanced at Kate, lying in a pool of blood. Then at the kidnappers being suppressed by police gunfire.
She didn't run to the cops.
Going to them now would only make her a hostage. A liability.
She crawled to Kate. Checked her breathing.
Weak. But there.
Can't stay here.
Juliana gritted her teeth, ignoring the tearing pain in her shoulder. She hoisted Kate—half a head taller than her—and dragged her toward the opposite side of the warehouse. Away from Owen's escape route. Into the shadows.
A broken window, half-blocked by containers.
Their only way out.
Minutes later, the gunfire stopped.
All kidnappers subdued—except Owen and Scorpion, who'd slipped into the sewers.
Lucas and Milo burst in at the same time.
Smoke and blood hung in the air.
Milo saw Kate's blood. His world went silent.
Lucas scanned the scene like radar.
Signs of struggle. Blood. Cut zip ties.
But no bodies.
Juliana and Kate—gone. Vanished from the battlefield.
Clarence approached.
"Lucas, Owen escaped. We're pursuing. The hostages…"
Lucas stood before the bloodstain. Didn't turn around.
He crouched slowly. His fingertip brushed the still-warm blood.
Then he looked up. Into the endless, bottomless night beyond the warehouse.
"She's not here."
---
Juliana half-dragged, half-carried Kate. Her shoulder screamed. Dull pain radiated through her bones to her limbs. But she couldn't stop. The woman in her arms was heavier, burning like a brand pulled from fire.
Can't stop.
She didn't know how long she'd walked. Her legs felt like lead. Finally, she spotted a hollow shielded by massive rocks. A crude cave.
She used the last of her strength to move Kate inside, propping her against the driest part of the stone wall.
Kate's lips were cracked, brow furrowed. Even unconscious, she seemed to be in agony. Juliana pressed a hand to her forehead.
The heat made her heart sink.
High fever.
Gunshot wound. Blood loss. Infection. The worst complication.
Helplessness flooded Juliana like rising water.
She pulled off her jacket, tore a clean piece from the lining, and tried to press it against the wound on Kate's back. But the blood had clotted, fabric stuck to flesh. Ripping it away would only cause more damage.
Need to lower her temperature. Physical cooling.
Juliana stumbled out of the cave. Her ears caught the faint sound of running water. She followed it and found a small pool between rocks. Clear.
She cupped water in her hands. Drank a few mouthfuls herself. Then returned to the cave and fed Kate bit by bit. Most of it trickled down her cracked lips. But at least it moistened them.
Juliana went back for more water. Soaked the torn fabric. Pressed it to Kate's forehead, neck, palms.
When she finished, she slumped against the cave entrance. Exhaustion and pain crashed over her. She watched Kate's breathing grow more labored in the dim light. One thought became crystal clear.
Not enough. She'll die like this.
She needed herbs.
The forest had plants with fever-reducing properties.
Even just large leaves soaked in water could draw away heat.
Juliana looked out at the impenetrable darkness. Then back at Kate, barely breathing.
No choice.
"Wait for me. I'll be back soon."
---
Elsewhere.
Owen crawled through the sewers like a stray dog. Scorpion limped behind him, leg bitten by a guard dog. Blood and stench mingled.
They climbed out of the drainage pipe.
Into the same wilderness.