My brother sabotaged the construction site of the woman I loved, leaving her unconscious behind the glass of a Chicago trauma bay. Then he walked into the hospital, smiled at me, and threatened to make sure she never woke up again. What he didn’t know was that I had finally found the one thing capable of destroying his entire criminal empire. / Chapter 14 / 20

Chapter 14 - HuntedJulian Sterling was bleeding, wounded, and cornered, but a wounded animal is at its most dangerous.

Having escaped the Lake Forest estate through a network of old underground drainage tunnels before Mercer's tactical team could surround the perimeter, Julian was now completely off the grid. His bank accounts were frozen, his lieutenants were in federal holding cells, and his name was posted on every law enforcement terminal in the Midwest.

He had one objective left before he fled the country: revenge.

At 9:00 PM, Maya was alone in her apartment in Lincoln Park. The federal guards had cleared her building an hour prior after declaring the area secure, believing Julian was actively attempting to cross the border into Canada.

Maya stood in her kitchen, making tea, trying to process the dizzying events of the last twenty-four hours.

Suddenly, the lights in her apartment flickered twice and died, plunging the room into total darkness.

Maya froze, her instincts immediately kicking into high gear. She set the teacup down softly on the counter, reaching for a heavy chef's knife in the wooden block beside her.

Click.

The lock on her front door turned smoothly from the outside.

Maya slipped silently around the kitchen island, pressing her back against the wall, holding her breath. Her injured ribs throbbed, but she forced the pain down.

The heavy front door swung open, admitting the pale light from the hallway corridor.

A tall, dark silhouette stepped inside, holding a silenced pistol. The scent of rain, copper, and expensive cologne drifted into the dark room.

"I know you're in here, Maya," Julian's raspy voice whispered from the doorway. He walked with a slight limp, his left arm held stiffly against his side where Derrick's bullet had torn through his shoulder. "My brother took everything from me. It's only fair I return the favor."

Maya didn't scream. She didn't panic.

She reached behind her, grabbed the heavy iron tea kettle from the stove, and slammed it with all her strength into the glass floor lamp beside the counter.

The lamp shattered with a deafening crash.