Chapter 10 - The Breach
The flashbang smoke hadn't even begun to clear when Leo Barnes and two tactical operators flooded through the ruined double doors, their weapons trained expertly on the shadowy corners of the penthouse.
“Clear!” Leo barked, his tactical flashlight cutting a sharp beam through the white haze.
Vivien Croft scrambled backward across the polished marble floor, her silk blouse stained with soot, her hair coming undone from its chignon. She tried to raise her silenced pistol toward Chloe, but before her finger could tighten on the trigger, a heavy combat boot pinned her wrist to the floor with bone-crushing force.
Vivien screamed as the weapon clattered out of her grip, sliding across the marble.
Arthur strode through the haze of smoke, stepping over the threshold of the penthouse like an avenging shadow. His eyes bypassed Vivien entirely, locking instantly onto the chair where Chloe sat bound and pale.
“Chloe,” he breathed, dropping to his knees beside her.
He didn't wait for tools. With a single, brutal wrench, he tore the heavy nylon zip-ties from her wrists, tossing them aside, and pulled her gently into his arms, careful of her swollen belly.
“You came,” she whispered, her face burying into the crook of his neck, tears finally breaking free.
“I told you I would burn this city down before I let anyone touch you,” Arthur murmured, pressing his lips fiercely against her temple. He pulled back just enough to inspect her face, his gaze dropping instantly to the damp fabric of her dress and the pale exhaustion in her eyes. “Are you hurt? Did she touch you?”
“The baby...” Chloe winced, a sharp intake of breath escaping her lips as another heavy contraction gripped her body. “Arthur, the stress... I think... I think the labor is starting for real.”
Arthur’s face drained of color. He stood up instantly, lifting her completely into his arms without a second thought.
“Leo!” Arthur roared, turning toward the door. “Get the private chopper on the roof fueled and prepped! We’re heading straight to the secure obstetric ward at St. Jude’s—no public hospitals, no delays!”
“On it, boss!” Leo shouted, hauling Vivien to her feet by her collar while she thrashed and screamed obscenities into the smoke.
As Arthur carried Chloe toward the private elevator, stepping over the wreckage of the penthouse doors, the storm outside seemed to part, letting a single beam of cold moonlight break through the clouds over Chicago.
Arthur looked down at Chloe, watching her bite her lower lip to fight back the pain, his heart pounding a frantic rhythm against his ribs.
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They were safe from Vivien. They were safe from Malcolm. But as the elevator doors slid shut, descending rapidly toward the roof, the private secure radio on Arthur’s tactical vest suddenly crackled to life with a priority dispatch signal that made his blood run cold.
“Boss,” a frantic voice shouted through the static from the safehouse downtown. “We’ve got a perimeter breach at the secondary safehouse. An unknown armed unit just hit the block... and they’re looking for Toby.”
