Chapter 28 - The Final Struggle
Before Julian could process my words, the beam of a massive searchlight suddenly stabbed through the darkness from the access road behind us. Heavy engine roars echoed over the sound of the waves. Three federal cruisers, lights flashing blindingly red and blue, came barreling down the dirt track, cutting off Julian’s escape route.
"Federal marshals! Drop the blanket and step away from the edge!" a loudspeaker boomed across the cliffside.
Julian’s face twisted in sudden, rabid panic. The mask of calm aristocracy shattered completely. "You tricked me!" he screamed, turning his rage entirely toward me. "You brought the feds anyway!"
Before Adam could react, Julian lunged forward with terrifying speed, his fingers grabbing the front of my cardigan. With a violent jerk, he tried to drag me toward the crumbling edge of the cliff, right toward the fifty-foot drop into the churning, black ocean below.
"Elena!" Adam roared, lunging through the air like a predator.
Adam tackled Julian full-force just as Julian’s hand slipped from my jacket. The two men collided heavily against the rusted iron railing, the old metal groaning and snapping under the sudden impact. Julian threw a wild punch, catching Adam across the jaw, but Adam retaliated with a furious, adrenaline-fueled tackle that pinned Julian against the concrete base of the lighthouse.
The yellow blanket slipped from Julian’s grasp, caught by a violent gust of wind, and fluttered out over the abyss like a wounded bird.
"No!" Julian shrieked, making a desperate grab for it, but his foot caught on a loose stone at the edge of the cliff.
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For a terrifying second, Julian hovered in mid-air over the crashing waves, his fingers clawing desperately at empty space. Adam lunged forward, grabbing Julian by the lapel of his trench coat just as he slipped over the precipice, hauling him back onto the solid stone with a grunt of pure exertion.
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