Chapter 6 - The Confrontation
Kross burst through the glass doors of the kitchen into the rain-drenched backyard garden, slipping on the wet tiles of the patio.
Before he could regain his footing, Richard Sterling tackled him from behind with the full force of a man protecting his home.
Both men crashed onto the flooded lawn in the pouring rain.
Kross rolled over, striking Richard across the jaw with his elbow. Richard gasped, his head snapping back, but the fury inside him outweighed the pain. He grabbed Kross by his tactical vest and slammed him against the trunk of a massive banyan tree.
“You came into my home!” Richard roared over the sound of thunder, punching Kross across his scarred face. “You tried to blow up my children!”
Kross spat blood, reaching for a knife tucked into his boot. “Vance... paid me... fifty grand for the girl’s head!”
Richard saw the flash of the steel blade in the rain. He grabbed Kross’s wrist, twisting it violently until the mercenary dropped the knife into the mud.
Richard pinned the man to the ground, pressing his forearm against Kross’s throat.
“Who ordered the strike on the yacht?” Richard demanded, his voice shaking with absolute rage. “Say his name on camera, or I swear to God I’ll let SWAT handle you!”
Kross choked, his eyes rolling back as he gasped for air under the pressure of Richard’s grip.
“Vance!” Kross gasped out, pointing toward his pocket. “Julian Vance! I recorded... every phone call! The audio files... are on my encrypted phone!”
Three SWAT officers rushed out into the garden, their rifle lights cutting through the heavy rain.
“Mr. Sterling! Step back! We’ve got him!”
Richard released his grip, taking a deep breath of the cold rain air as the officers pinned Kross to the ground and slapped heavy steel handcuffs on his wrists.
Commander Vance walked out into the yard, holding a ziplock bag containing Kross’s satellite phone.
“We got it, Richard,” the commander said, wiping rain from his eyes. “Every conversation between Kross and Julian Vance is backed up on federal servers. It’s over.”
Richard stood up in the pouring rain, wiping blood from his lip, and looked back at the warm lights of his home.
In the second-floor window, Marina, Peter, and Luna were standing together, watching the garden. Marina was holding Luna tightly in her arms.
May you like
Richard raised a thumb up toward the window.
Luna smiled and waved back through the glass.
