Chapter 17 - The Cliff's Edge.The wind howled fiercely off the dark ocean, whipping Emily’s soaked hair wildly across her bruised face.
She tracked the heavy, muddy footprints Vance left behind on the pristine limestone walkways of the garden.
The estate grounds were sprawling and treacherous, ending abruptly at a sheer cliff that dropped hundreds of feet into churning black water.
Lightning flashed overhead, briefly illuminating a hidden stone staircase carved directly into the jagged cliffside.
Vance was halfway down the steps, heading toward a private, heavily armored speed boat docked in the secret cove below.
Emily cautiously descended the slippery stone stairs, her sensible shoes struggling to find purchase in the torrential downpour.
The roaring waves crashing against the rocks below easily masked the sound of her rapid pursuit.
Halfway down the descent, she stumbled over a dark shape crumpled agonizingly against the damp stone wall.
It was Marcus, clutching his bleeding side and shivering violently in the freezing rain.
He had somehow managed to drag himself out of the basement through a drainage pipe, only to be ambushed by Vance on the stairs.
Emily knelt beside the brave security guard, ripping a piece of her ruined apron to tightly bind his gunshot wound.
Marcus grabbed her wrist with surprising strength, his eyes wide and completely unfocused.
He warned her that Vance had rigged the entire dock with heavy military explosives to cover his escape.
If the boat launched, the ensuing blast would completely obliterate the cliffside and take the mansion down with it.
Emily pulled Marcus deeper into a shallow alcove, promising him that help was coming from the FBI.
She knew she could not wait for the tactical teams to navigate the maze of the estate in the dark.
She had to stop Vance from turning the key in that boat's ignition.
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Picking up a heavy, jagged piece of loose slate from the stairs, she gripped it tightly in her trembling right hand.
She crept down the final flight of steps, stepping onto the wooden planks of the private, hidden dock.
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