Chapter 6 - The Web Tightens
Gabriel leaped through the shattered glass onto the terrace, the freezing rain drenching his tailored dress shirt.
He fired two shots toward the roof access ladder, the rounds sparking off the steel rungs.
Julianna threw the heavy iron hatch shut, sealing the roof lock from the upper deck.
Gabriel slammed his shoulder against the metal door, cursing as the industrial deadbolt held firm.
Behind him, Claire carried Lily out onto the open balcony, wrapping the child tightly inside Gabriel’s wool suit coat.
Lily was crying now, tears cutting clean paths through the dust on her pale cheeks.
"The bad lady," Lily sobbed, clinging to Claire’s neck with both arms.
"She took Mommy’s book."
Gabriel turned back from the locked hatch, his face dripping with rain and unadulterated fury.
He pulled a master radio from his waistband and switched to the emergency channel.
"Lock down the harbor docks," Gabriel commanded into the receiver.
"Ground the helicopter at the Tribeca pier."
"If Julianna Cross attempts to leave the perimeter, put a bullet through both of her knees."
Static hissed through the radio before a strange, mechanical voice responded over the secure line.
"Mister Varrick, your perimeter was compromised three hours ago."
"Julianna isn't running to the pier."
"She is already at Saint Jude’s Memorial Hospital in Queens."
Claire’s heart dropped into her stomach like a lead weight.
Saint Jude’s was the oncology ward where her mother lay hooked to life support.
Claire grabbed Gabriel’s wet forearm, her fingernails pressing into his muscle.
"She knows about my mother," Claire gasped, terror choking her voice.
"She used the staffing agency to bring me here on purpose."
Gabriel looked down at Claire, the realization hitting him with the force of an oncoming freight train.
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Julianna hadn't hired a broke nanny to watch Lily starve in peace.
She had hired the only living relative who could unlock the family trust.
