Chapter 7 - Blood and Asphalt
The tension in the alley was suffocating. Toby was shaking beside me, but I refused to let Julian see my terror. I felt the hard outline of the silver key and USB drive burning through my jacket pocket.
"You killed my father," I said, stepping slightly to Jonah's side so Julian could look directly into my eyes. "He was a good man, and you ran him down like an animal."
Julian chuckled, a sound like dry autumn leaves scraping against pavement. "Your father was greedy. He thought he could blackmail Eleanor and walk away clean. Nobody blackmails a Vance."
"He wasn't blackmailing you," Jonah snarled. "He was trying to protect the families whose housing you destroyed!"
In a flash, Jonah moved.
Having survived three years in an environment where violence erupted without warning, Jonah's instincts were lightning-fast. Before Julian’s bodyguards could draw their weapons, Jonah lunged, tackling the first man into the brick wall with a sickening crunch. The second bodyguard lunged for Jonah, but Jonah drove an elbow into the man’s sternum, sending him sprawling into the garbage bins.
"Run, Clara! Get Toby to the car!" Jonah screamed, wrestling Julian for the gun.
A gunshot cracked through the narrow alley, ricocheting off the metal fire escape. I screamed, but Jonah didn't fall. Instead, Julian cried out in pain as Jonah twisted his wrist, forcing the gun to clatter onto the wet asphalt.
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Jonah delivered a devastating punch to Julian's jaw, dropping his cousin like a sack of stones. Breathing heavily, blood trickling from a split lip, Jonah scooped up the weapon, ejected the magazine, and tossed the parts into opposite storm drains.
"We move. Now!" Jonah grabbed my hand, Toby right behind us, and we sprinted toward the main street where the sounds of approaching police sirens were already echoing off the buildings.
