Chapter 9 - The Siege at the Penthouse
Back in the penthouse, Abby was vacuuming the living room when the service elevator bell chimed.
Assuming it was the organic produce delivery she had ordered for the kitchen, she walked toward the foyer without a second thought. As the elevator doors slid open, her blood ran cold.
Two burly men in dark suits stepped out. Neither of them looked like delivery drivers. One of them had a jagged scar running down his jawline, and his hand rested ominously inside his jacket pocket.
“Abigail Mercer?” the scarred man asked, his voice gravelly and threatening.
Abby took two steps back, reaching instinctively for her phone. “Who are you? Get out of here right now or I’m calling the police.”
The second man lunged forward with terrifying speed, grabbing Abby by the arm and shoving her hard against the glass wall. A sharp pain shot through her shoulder.
“Where is the encrypted flash drive Julian Cross gave you?” the man snarled, pressing a heavy pistol barrel against the side of her ribs. “Give it to us, and maybe you walk out of here before Cross gets back.”
Abby’s heart pounded like a jackhammer, but beneath the paralyzing terror, her survival instinct kicked in. She didn't know anything about a flash drive. Julian hadn't given her any drive—this was a violent misunderstanding by men who thought she was part of his corporate war.
“I don't have it!” Abby gasped, fighting back tears. “I’m just a housekeeper! I don't know anything about his business!”
“Liar!” the scarred man barked, raising his free hand to strike her across the face.
Before the blow could land, the front double doors of the penthouse burst open with a deafening crash.
“Get your hands off her!”
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Julian stood in the entryway. His jacket was gone, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and his dark eyes burned with an incandescent, lethal fury that made the two thugs momentarily freeze. Behind him, three armed private security guards fanned out, leveling professional-grade tactical rifles straight at the intruders' chests.
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