Chapter 10 - The Abduction Attempt on the Harbor
Driven by pure, unhinged animal desperation, Julian suddenly lunged toward the side service door behind the VIP stage, pulling a concealed ceramic pistol from his waistband.
He kicked the fire exit open, sprinting down the private emergency corridor leading toward the hotel’s private marina on Boston Harbor.
“Cover Sarah and Lily!” Dominic roared to Marcus as he vaulted onto the stage, pursuing his cousin with terrifying, predatory speed.
Julian burst through the marina doors onto the wet wooden docks, where a high-powered twin-engine speedboat was idling in the storm.
He leaped onto the deck, screaming at the pilot to throttle the engines, raising his firearm toward the open doorway.
Before Julian could aim, Dominic exploded through the rain, diving across the wooden pilings and tackling Julian onto the fiberglass deck with bone-crushing force.
The ceramic pistol flew from Julian’s hand, clattering into the freezing black water of the harbor.
Dominic pinned his traitorous cousin to the deck, driving a devastating right hook into Julian’s jaw that shattered his teeth and sent blood spraying across the windshield.
Dominic grabbed Julian by the collar of his ruined ivory tuxedo, lifting the two-hundred-pound man off the deck with his bare hands.
He held Julian suspended over the churning, icy water of the bay, his sterling-gray eyes void of all human mercy.
“You tried to murder my six-year-old daughter in her sleep, Julian,” Dominic whispered, his voice cold enough to freeze the ocean.
“You stole six years of my life with Sarah, and you murdered my father in cold blood.”
“Dominic… please! Mercy! We have the same blood!” Julian wept pathetically, his legs dangling over the dark, freezing abyss.
“Our blood was forged in honor and loyalty, Julian,” Dominic said in a low growl.
“You are just a parasite who sold his soul for paper money.”
From the edge of the dock, Sarah and Lily stepped into the rain, accompanied by Agent Reed and four tactical officers.
Lily looked at her father standing over the water, her small hand reaching out toward him through the mist.
“Daddy…” Lily’s sweet, clear voice drifted across the wooden planks.
“Barnaby says the bad man is already in the trap.”
Dominic froze, looking over his shoulder at his daughter’s innocent, shining face.
The homicidal darkness in his soul melted instantly beneath the sound of her voice.
With a heave of his powerful arms, Dominic hauled Julian back onto the wooden dock, slamming him face-first onto the wet planks.
Agent Reed stepped forward, driving his knee into Julian’s back and snapping heavy steel handcuffs around his wrists with aggressive finality.
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“Julian Sterling, you are going to spend the rest of your miserable life in a federal cage,” Agent Reed growled.
Dominic stood up, turning his back on the disgraced traitor, and walked across the dock into the warm, waiting arms of his daughter and wife.
