Chapter 25 - The Rescue in the Freight Yard
"Mommy!" Leo stumbled onto the wet gravel, tears streaking his dust-covered cheeks.
"Keep walking, baby. Look at me. Don't look back," I whispered, every muscle in my body straining to keep from running toward him. "Just keep looking at Mama."
One step. Two steps. Three steps.
Julian stood ten yards away, his pistol shifting between Leo's back and my chest, his greed completely focused on the steel lockbox resting in my arms. "Put it down, Sarah! Now!"
"Here," I said coldly.
Instead of gently setting it down, I hurled the heavy steel box with all my strength straight into the air toward the railway tracks.
Julian’s eyes instinctively tracked the arc of the fortune he had risked everything to steal. For one fraction of a second, his gun barrel dipped.
That fraction of a second was all David needed.
A single shot cracked through the night.
Julian screamed as the bullet tore through his shoulder, his weapon spinning out of his grip.
"Leo! Run!" I screamed, lunging forward.
Leo bolted across the tracks and collided into my arms with such force that we both tumbled onto the gravel. I wrapped my entire body around him, shielding his head, kissing his hair, weeping uncontrollably as the raw scent of rain, sweat, and my son washed over me.
"I’ve got you. I’ve got you, my brave boy. You’re safe. Mama is here," I sobbed, pulling him against my chest.
Behind us, David closed the distance in three massive strides. He kicked Julian flat onto his back, planting a heavy tactical boot squarely on his chest, the barrel of his rifle pressed against Vance’s forehead.
"Game over, Julian," David said, his voice flat as ice.
Julian coughed, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, but a venomous smile twisted his lips. "You... you think this is over, Sarah? You think your brother and I were the only ones? We were just the front men... the cleanup crew. The real owners... they already own the judges. They own the banks. You’ll never make it out of Nashville alive."
May you like
"We'll see about that," I said, standing up with Leo clutched tightly in my embrace.
***
