Chapter 7 - The Ambush
The drive back from the gala was choked with an unsettling, heavy silence.
The rain had turned into a thick, blinding fog that swallowed the highway. Julian sat beside Elena in the back of the armored SUV, his hand firmly holding hers, his thumb rubbing small, soothing circles on her knuckles.
"You shouldn't have spoken to Volkov like that," Julian murmured, though the pride in his eyes contradicted his words. "He is a cornered rat. Rats bite when they are terrified."
"I won't let him insult you," Elena said softly, surprising even herself with the fierce truth in her voice. She looked down at their joined hands. "You saved my life, Julian. You protected my child. I won't let a man like him make you look small."
Julian turned to look at her, his hazel eyes searching her face with an intensity that made her breath catch. He reached out, his gloved hand framing her face, pulling her slightly closer.
"Elena..." he whispered, his thumb brushing her cheekbone. "Do you have any idea what you are doing to me?"
Before she could answer, a loud explosion rocked the highway.
BOOM!
The lead escort vehicle in front of them erupted into a ball of orange fire, spinning violently off the wet asphalt into the concrete divider.
"AMBUSH!" Marco screamed from the front passenger seat. "INCOMING! THREE VEHICLES ON THE LEFT!"
Automatic gunfire rained down on their armored SUV like hail, the heavy bulletproof glass spider-webbing with white cracks as rounds slammed into the doors. The driver slammed on the brakes, the heavy SUV skidding sideways across the slick highway before coming to a violent halt against the guardrail.
Elena screamed, pulling her knees up to protect her belly.
Without missing a beat, Julian threw his body over hers, wrapping his broad chest and arms around her like a human shield, taking the brunt of the glass shards and violent shocks as bullets hammered the vehicle.
"Hold on to me!" Julian growled in her ear, his hand cradling the back of her head, pressing her face into his neck. "Don't let go, Elena! I’ve got you!"
Through the shattered front windshield, dozens of armed men in heavy tactical gear spilled out from dark vans, advancing on the trapped SUV with rifles raised.
"They've disabled the engine, Boss!" Marco yelled, firing his pistol through a gun port in the passenger door. "We can't move!"
Julian pulled back, his face a mask of cold, terrifying focus. He reached under his seat, pulling out a heavy, submachine gun, checking the magazine with a rapid CLICK.
He looked down at Elena. She was pale, shaking, her hands clutched tightly around his lapels, her brown eyes filled with pure terror—not for herself, but for him.
"Listen to me," Julian said, his voice dropping to an impossibly calm, gentle frequency amidst the roaring gunfire outside. "Stay under the seat. Cover your ears. I am going to end this."
"Julian, no!" she sobbed, grabbing his sleeve. "They'll kill you!"
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Julian leaned down, pressing his lips firmly against hers in a brief, possessive, scorching kiss that tasted of rain and fire, stealing the very air from her lungs.
"No one kills me," Julian whispered against her lips, his eyes burning with absolute, terrifying authority. "Not while I have a family to come home to."
