Chapter 10 - The Ambush at Sunrise
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Dawn arrived not with sunlight, but with a pale, bruised violet sky that promised heavy winter snow.
Holly was awakened by a sharp, vibrating growl that shook the very floorboards beneath the sofa.
She sat up instantly, shedding the wool blanket as the morning light crept through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the great hall.
Atlas was standing by the heavy mahogany front doors, his hackles raised in a jagged ridge along his spine.
His teeth were bared, a terrifying display of white bone and raw power that transformed the gentle companion into a lethal predator.
Brennan emerged from the adjacent hallway already dressed in a dark wool sweater and trousers, holding a black tactical tablet in his left hand.
“Stay behind me, Holly,” he said, his voice completely calm, yet vibrating with an icy tension that made her blood run cold.
“What is it?” she asked, scrambling to her feet as Atlas let out a deafening, chest-rattling roar toward the entryway.
“Marcus didn’t wait for business hours,” Brennan answered, glancing down at the camera feeds displayed on the screen.
“Three SUVs just breached the lower perimeter gate.”
“They disabled the electronic sensors at the guardhouse.”
Before Holly could process the terror of his words, the sound of heavy tires grinding against the front drive gravel echoed outside.
Car doors slammed in rapid succession, followed by the heavy, hurried crunch of boots on frozen stone.
Brennan walked calmly to the mantle, opened a concealed panel in the oak wainscoting, and retrieved a sleek, matte-black handgun.
He chambered a round with a crisp, terrifying mechanical snap and slipped it into the back of his waistband.
“David is in the security annex with the local sheriff’s tactical unit on speed dial,” Brennan told her, turning to look directly into her eyes.
“They are four minutes out.”
“All we have to do is hold the threshold.”
The heavy iron knocker on the front door slammed against the oak three times with violent, demanding force.
“Brennan!” a voice shouted from the other side, muffled by the heavy timber but brimming with arrogant fury.
“Open the damn door!”
“We know the girl is in there, and we know what you took from the archive!”
Atlas threw his entire hundred-pound frame against the reinforced oak, snapping his jaws against the wood with a fury that shook the frame.
Holly stepped forward, her fear suddenly evaporating beneath a wave of fierce, righteous protective anger.
She had spent two years working herself to the bone, living honestly while men like Marcus stole fortunes and murdered their own flesh and blood.
“Don’t let him talk to you like you’re the one who committed a crime,” Holly whispered, her voice steady and clear beside Brennan.
Brennan looked down at her, a fierce, brilliant spark of admiration blazing in his gray eyes.
He reached down, took her hand, and gave it an unbreakable squeeze.
May you like
“I don’t intend to,” Brennan said.
He reached for the heavy brass deadbolt, unlocked it with a single turn, and pulled the massive door wide open to face the storm.
