Chapter 10: The Deal
The door creaked open. Jude stumbled in, blood running down his forehead, hands bound loosely in front of him. Behind him stood David, holding a gun to Jude’s back.
“Nice reunion,” David said with a cold smile. “Hand over the drives, and I’ll let him live.”
Lucas stepped forward slowly, hands raised. “Let him go. It’s me you want.”
“It’s everything I want,” David corrected. “The company, the land, the money—all of it should have been mine. Your father ruined my family. Now I’m taking what’s mine.”
He gestured at me and Ethan. “And step away from the boy. He’s the only reason you haven’t run already.”
Jude shifted suddenly, driving his elbow hard into David’s stomach. The gun went off, bullet sparking into the ceiling. Lucas tackled David to the ground. I grabbed Ethan and pulled him behind a stack of rotting planks.
They fought hard—grunting, crashing, punching. David kicked Lucas in the ribs and scrambled for the gun. Jude grabbed a rusted iron bar and swung it hard against his wrist. The gun skittered across the floor.
Lucas pinned him down, pressing his forearm against David’s throat. “Where are the rest of them?”
“On their way,” David spat, blood on his teeth. “And you’ll all be dead before the sun sets.”
