Chapter 7 - The Hunter in the Shadows
The parking garage smelled of old motor oil and rotting leaves.
Maria pulled Leo behind a massive concrete pillar.
She covered his mouth with her trembling hand so the killer wouldn't hear him breathing.
Leo’s heart was beating so fast it felt like a trapped bird fluttering in his chest.
Footsteps echoed rhythmically through the silence.
Click. Clack. Click. Clack.
The driver was stalking them slowly, deliberately.
He clicked a high-powered tactical flashlight on.
The blinding white beam swept across the dusty cars and cement columns.
“Do you know who I am, Leo?” the driver called out into the darkness.
His voice was terrifyingly calm.
“My name is Thomas.”
“I have been your father’s head of security for ten years.”
Maria felt her blood run cold at the revelation.
Thomas was the one man they were all supposed to trust with their lives.
“Your father paid me very well, but Victoria paid me significantly better,” Thomas taunted.
The beam of light passed inches from where Maria and Leo were crouching.
Maria squeezed her eyes shut, praying for a miracle.
“I was the one who gave her the master key to the study,” Thomas confessed loudly.
“I wiped the security footage.”
“And I was supposed to make sure you both disappeared quietly tonight.”
Leo looked up at Maria, his eyes wide with stark terror.
He gently pulled her hand away from his mouth.
He pointed silently toward a red exit sign glowing faintly in the distance.
It was the door to the emergency stairwell.
It was at least fifty yards away, completely exposed.
Maria nodded slowly, understanding the dangerous plan.
She reached into her uniform pocket and pulled out a handful of loose coins.
She wound her arm back and hurled the coins as far as she could to the left.
They hit the concrete wall with a loud, clattering crash.
Thomas instantly whipped his flashlight toward the sound, raising his gun.
“Go!” Maria whispered urgently.
They broke from their cover and sprinted toward the red glow of the exit sign.
Their footsteps slapped loudly against the floor.
Thomas spun around, realizing he had been tricked.
“Stop right there!” Thomas roared furiously.
He fired a shot into the darkness.
May you like
The bullet sparked against the concrete right next to Maria’s foot.
She shoved Leo through the heavy metal stairwell door and threw herself in right behind him.
