Chapter 16 - Collision at Blackwood Bridge
The high suspension bridge leading to Blackwood Bay was blanketed in a dense, swirling sea fog.
Julian’s convoy of three vehicles surged across the bridge at ninety miles per hour. Suddenly, the lead vehicle slammed on its brakes, tires shrieking as it slid across the slick asphalt.
Blocking the exit of the bridge was a terrifying sight: a massive, ten-ton reinforced Moretti armored construction truck parked sideways, completely blocking all four lanes.
"What the hell is that?!" Julian screamed, grabbing the dashboard. "Ram through it!"
Before the driver could shift gears, a loud THUD echoed from above.
Gabriel Moretti had dropped from the steel superstructure of the bridge directly onto the hood of Julian’s van. The windshield shattered into a web of white cracks.
Gabriel didn't hesitate. He pulled a heavy tactical hammer from his belt and smashed through the driver’s side window, dragging the driver out through the frame and tossing him onto the highway.
Gabriel reached inside, grabbed the steering wheel, and yanked it hard to the left, crashing the van directly into the concrete side barrier of the bridge.
Inside the rear cabin, the violent impact threw the two guards off balance.
Claire seized the opening. She pulled her freed hands forward, holding the heavy steel glass-breaker hammer, and swung it with all her strength into the temple of the nearest guard. The man collapsed instantly. The second guard reached for his sidearm, but Claire kicked him square in the knee, snapping the joint backwards, then drove her elbow into his throat.
Richard grabbed the fallen guard's dropped weapon, holding it with steady, angry hands.
"Claire!" Gabriel’s voice bellowed from outside.
The heavy side sliding door of the van was ripped completely off its hinges by Gabriel’s bare hands and a steel crowbar.
Gabriel stepped into the opening, his armor covered in glass dust, his face smeared with rain and oil, looking like a demonic warrior rising from the abyss. But when his dark eyes fell upon Claire, unharmed, standing over two neutralized guards, the fury in his face transformed into sheer, breathtaking relief.
Claire stepped out of the wrecked van into the cold coastal rain, stepping straight into Gabriel’s arms. Gabriel wrapped his massive arms around her, crushing her against his chest, burying his face in her dark hair.
"You're safe," Gabriel breathed, his chest heaving. "God, Claire... you're safe."
"I told you," Claire whispered into his neck, holding him tight. "I'm dangerous."
A pathetic groan came from the front of the vehicle.
Julian Sterling was crawling out of the shattered passenger window, blood dripping from his nose, scrambling across the wet pavement toward his dropped gun.
Gabriel released Claire gently. He walked over to Julian, stepping heavily onto Julian’s outstretched wrist. Julian shrieked in pain.
Gabriel grabbed Julian by the collar of his expensive suit, dragging him to the edge of the bridge suspension railing. Below them, three hundred feet down, the icy black ocean churned against sharp granite rocks.
"Gabriel, please!" Julian begged, his voice high-pitched and hysterical. "I have money! Billions! I can give you control of the entire European shipping network! Just let me live!"
Gabriel held Julian over the edge of the railing, balancing him on the razor's edge between life and death. Gabriel’s face was devoid of human emotion—a blank canvas of pure judgment.
"You targeted my family," Gabriel said softly. "You tried to take the light out of this city."
Julian wept, shivering in terror. "Please..."
Gabriel looked back over his shoulder at Claire.
Claire walked up beside Gabriel. She looked down at the trembling billionaire who had tried to destroy everything they had fought to build.
"Gabriel," Claire spoke softly, her voice cutting through the sound of the wind and crashing waves. "If you throw him off this bridge, he wins. He turns you back into the monster he claimed you were."
Gabriel’s grip on Julian’s collar tightened. Every dark instinct in his soul screamed for vengeance.
"We are building something better, Gabriel," Claire said, reaching out her soft hand and resting it over Gabriel’s scarred knuckles on Julian's collar. "Let the law take what’s left of him."
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Gabriel looked at Claire’s dark, luminous eyes. The storm inside him slowly receded, replaced once again by the unshakeable peace she brought to his soul.
With a grunt of disgust, Gabriel yanked Julian back over the railing and slammed him hard onto the cold asphalt. Marco immediately stepped forward with federal marshals, slapping heavy iron cuffs on Julian’s wrists.
