Chapter 5 - The Trap Springs
"Jimmy..." Sarah gasped, backing away from the window.
Jimmy Vance was thirty-four, tall, lean, with a scarred jaw and wild, bloodshot eyes—a man who had spent his adult life drifting between petty crime, gambling debts, and violent outbursts.
"Stay behind me, Sarah," Marcus whispered, drawing his suppressed sidearm from his shoulder holster. "We take the fire escape out the back."
"The fire escape is padlocked from the outside!" Sarah whispered frantically. "Gary locked it last month to keep workers from taking smoke breaks!"
Downstairs, heavy footsteps began pounding up the metal staircase leading to the office!
"Sarah!" Jimmy’s voice bellowed through the corridor, filled with drunken rage. "I know you're up there, you bitch! Gary told me you got yourself a billionaire sugar daddy! You think you can leave me in the dirt and take my kid?!"
Marcus stepped in front of the office door, his weapon trained on the frame. "Sarah, get under the desk!"
The office door was kicked open with a deafening crash!
Jimmy burst into the room, holding the heavy crowbar, with two armed thugs behind him. When he saw Marcus’s gun, Jimmy didn't hesitate—he threw the heavy steel crowbar directly at Marcus’s head!
Marcus ducked, the crowbar shattering the office window behind him, but the distraction gave the second thug enough time to lunge forward, tackling Marcus against the wall! The gun skidded across the linoleum floor, disappearing under the couch!
"Got you!" Jimmy sneered, grabbing Sarah’s arm with a iron grip, pulling her up from the floor!
"Let go of me, Jimmy!" Sarah screamed, striking him across the face with her free hand!
Jimmy stumbled back, his face flushing red with rage. He raised his heavy fist to strike her. "You miserable little—"
BANG!
A deafening gunshot shattered the night air!
Jimmy screamed as a bullet slammed into the floor an inch from his boot, spraying concrete dust across his jeans!
Standing in the shattered doorway of the office, holding a heavy chrome revolver, was Marco Bellandi. His grey suit was dusted with fog, his eyes burning with a lethal, ancient fury that froze every man in the room.
Behind him stood four heavily armed estate guards, their laser sights painting red dots across the chests of Castaglione’s thugs.
"Put your hands on your head," Marco said, his voice dropping into a cold, terrifying whisper that echoed off the high warehouse walls. "Or I promise you, none of you will walk out of this building alive."
Jimmy froze, his hand slipping away from Sarah’s arm as he slowly raised his hands into the air, trembling violently as he recognized the legendary billionaire.
"Mr... Mr. Bellandi," Jimmy stammered, his face pale with horror. "This is a family matter—"
"You have no family here, Vance," Marco said, stepping into the room, his eyes never leaving Jimmy. "You are a ghost who abandoned his child. And tonight, you are a convicted felon."
Marcus quickly recovered his weapon, pinning Castaglione’s two thugs against the desk while Marco’s estate guards cuffed Jimmy to the metal radiator.
Marco walked over to Sarah. He dropped his gun into his coat pocket, reached out, and pulled her gently into his arms.
Sarah collapsed against his chest, her hands clutching his lapels, shaking violently as tears of sheer adrenaline and relief spilled down her face.
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"I've got you, Sarah," Marco whispered into her hair, holding her close, his broad hand resting against her back. "It’s over. You're safe."
Sarah looked up into his dark eyes, seeing the deep, fiercely protective warmth shining behind his rugged features. For the first time in eight years, she felt completely, utterly safe.
