CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY ONE – ASSAULT ON THE CEO

Julian's footsteps echoed through the cavernous underground garage, sharp and rapid as he strode towards his waiting car. Every muscle in his body was taut, his senses heightened to a razor's edge as he scanned his surroundings for any hint of danger. Something wasn't right. Call it preternatural instinct, but he could feel it – that prickling at the back of his neck, the undeniable sense that he was being watched. Watched, and hunted. His pace quickened as he closed in on his gleaming black sedan, and he reached into his jacket for the reassuring weight of the handgun he always kept on his person. They wouldn't take him without a fight, he vowed silently. Not today. The harsh staccato of footsteps reached his ears, and he whirled just in time to see them – three hulking figures emerging from the shadows, their brutish features twisted into feral sneers. "Well, well...if it ain't the big man himself," the largest of them rumbled, his words dripping with menace as he advanced. "Gue