Chapter 6 - THE HUNTER’S ARRIVAL
The following morning,
the peace of the estate was shattered by the arrival of a black car.
It wasn't one of Julian’s vehicles,
it was older,
more battered,
and it carried the scent of the city’s underbelly.
Two men stepped out,
wearing cheap suits and expressions of bored cruelty.
Sadie saw them from the kitchen window,
and the coffee cup in her hand shattered against the floor.
She recognized them.
They were the men her father had owed,
the ones who had chased her from the city six months ago.
They shouldn't have been able to find her here.
The Croft gates were supposed to be impenetrable.
But money can open any door,
and Celeste Vane had plenty of it.
Julian was in his study,
the heavy doors closed for a meeting,
leaving Sadie alone in the kitchen.
Titus stood up,
a low growl vibrating in his chest,
his hackles rising as the men approached the service entrance.
Sadie backed away,
her heart pounding so hard she thought it might burst.
The men didn't knock,
they simply pushed the door open,
the security guard lying unconscious on the gravel outside.
“Hello,
Sadie,”
the taller one said,
a cruel smile twisting his face.
“It’s been a long time.”
“We heard you’d found a new job.”
“A very lucrative one.”
Sadie looked for a way out,
but they were blocking the only exit.
“I don't have the money,”
she said,
her voice trembling.
“You know my father took it all.”
“Oh,
we don't want the money anymore,”
the man said,
pulling a set of handcuffs from his belt.
“The lady who hired us wants you back in the city.”
“She wants to make an example of you.”
Titus lunged then,
a hundred and fifty pounds of protective fury.
He didn't bark,
he simply launched himself at the tall man,
his teeth baring in the light of the kitchen.
The man cried out,
falling back against the counter,
as Titus pinned him to the floor.
The second man drew a gun,
aiming it at the dog’s head.
“No!”
Sadie screamed,
diving toward Titus.
But before the man could pull the trigger,
the kitchen door was kicked open.
Julian Croft stood there,
a silencer-equipped pistol in his hand,
his face a mask of pure,
unadulterated rage.
He didn't say a word.
He fired twice.
The man with the gun collapsed,
the bullet hitting him squarely in the chest.
The man under Titus froze,
his eyes wide with terror as he looked into the eyes of the devil.
Julian walked over,
the heels of his shoes clicking on the tile,
and pressed the barrel of his gun against the man’s forehead.
“Who sent you?”
Julian asked,
his voice a whisper that was more terrifying than a shout.
The man stammered,
the smell of fear filling the air.
“The... the Vane girl.”
“She gave us the codes to the gate.”
Julian’s jaw tightened,
a dark,
lethal calm settling over him.
“Tell your boss that the Crofts are coming for him,”
Julian said.
“And then tell the devil I sent you.”
He didn't pull the trigger.
He gestured to his guards,
who had appeared in the doorway,
and they dragged the man away.
Julian turned to Sadie,
his eyes scanning her for injuries.
“Are you okay?”
he asked,
his voice cracking with a rare display of emotion.
Sadie nodded,
her breath coming in ragged gasps,
as she fell to her knees beside Titus.
The dog was licking her hand,
his tail wagging slowly,
as if to tell her the danger was over.
Julian crouched beside her,
pulling her into his arms.
“I’m sorry,”
he whispered into her hair.
“I should have known she wouldn't stop.”
“But I promise you,
Sadie,”
“she will never touch you again.”
May you like
Harrow Falls was about to burn,
and Julian Croft was the one holding the match.
