[CONTENT TEMPLATE HERE]
Chapter 838:
That single, involuntary flicker of relief was a knife to the gut for both Cole and Crawford.
Cole lost what little remained of his composure. He let out a sound that was barely human, drew his Glock, and aimed it directly at Easton’s chest.
“Step away from my wife!” Cole screamed, his finger tightening on the trigger.
Easton did not blink. He reached into his jacket with slow, deliberate movements and withdrew his smartphone, the screen glowing in the dim room. He held it up directly in front of the gun barrel.
“I have an emergency restraining order drafted and queued to a State Supreme Court judge on the night rotation,” Easton said, his voice perfectly level. “Your presence here is already documented. One more step, Cole, and I send it. Put the gun down p>
The SWAT commander raised his weapon. “Drop it! Now p>
The standoff balanced on a razor’s edge.
June leaned slightly past Easton’s shoulder. Her gaze found Cole’s. There was no anger in it. No grief. Only the blank, empty look one gives a stranger on the street.
“Goodbye, Cole,” she said.
Easton guided her into the elevator. The officers backed in slowly behind them, weapons trained on Cole until the metal doors slid shut.
The heavy doors sealed with a soft, final sound, cutting off Cole’s agonized, breathless stare.
𝖳𝗿𝗲𝗇𝖽𝗶𝘯 oո.со𝗺
June leaned her head back against the cold elevator wall and closed her eyes. The exhaustion pulled her under at last.
Cole burst through the glass doors of the apartment building. The biting early-winter wind of Manhattan cut across his pale face like a blade. It did nothing to touch the burning acid in his veins.
He stood on the sidewalk, eyes locked on the red taillights of the NYPD cruiser disappearing down the avenue.
His fingernails drove into his palms until the skin broke. Warm blood pooled in the creases of his hands and dripped onto the pristine white snow, leaving dark red spots in the powder. He didn’t feel it.
His chief assistant stepped up beside him, raising a large black umbrella against the falling snow.
“Sir, the NYPD is officially involved now,” the assistant said, keeping his voice low. “If we pursue the police cruiser, it triggers a federal incident. We cannot control the fallout p>
Cole spun. He grabbed the assistant by the lapels and lifted him onto his toes. His eyes were entirely bloodshot, the veins pulsing at his temples. He looked like something cornered and past reason.
“Mobilize every dark asset the Compton family owns,” Cole forced out through clenched teeth. His voice was a guttural scrape. “I want the identity of the person who ordered this kidnapping. Tonight p>
The assistant felt the homicidal intent radiating off him and nodded immediately, raising a hand to signal the armored SUV idling across the street.