Novels by LuchyBee

"Do not go, Leo."Marcus slammed a heavy iron crowbar onto the metal kitchen counter of Evelyn's apartment. The loud clang made the coffee cups rattle on the shelf."It is an ambush. A blind man could see it. They pull Julian out of a locked basement, leave an empty truck for the cops, and now they want to talk over dinner? They will put a hole in your back the second you sit down.""If I do not go, they pull the commercial operating license on the tower by midnight," I said, leaning over the counter as I pulled on a clean black long-sleeve shirt.Every movement sent a hot, sharp tear through my side. The white gauze was already stained with a fresh spot of red, but I did not stop buttoning the cuffs."Let them pull the license!" Marcus growled, his scarred face dark with anger. "We have the physical deed! We have the court order!""The court order only freezes the physical building, Marcus," Evelyn said, stepping into the kitchen with her laptop under her arm. "It does not control th

"Stop the truck!"Richard screamed into his phone, his face turning an ugly shade of purple right there in the middle of the crowded courtroom aisle."Call the dock authority! Do not let Julian leave the basement gate! Shoot the tires out if you have to!"The line clicked dead. Richard stood frozen, staring at his dark phone screen with his mouth open. The golden cane in his right hand trembled so hard the brass tip rattled against the marble floor. The reporters in the back row began shouting out questions, pushing against the wooden gate."Mr. Sterling, is it true your son is fleeing with corporate funds?""Has Sterling Global defaulted on its municipal debt?"Richard did not answer. He shoved past his own defense lawyers, almost tripping over his long coat, and rushed out the side judicial door like a dog running from a fire."Look at him run," Marcus muttered, a rough, satisfied grin cutting across his scarred face. "The big boss cannot even control his own pup.""It is not funny

"You cannot walk in there looking like a ghost, Leo."Evelyn stood in front of the full-length mirror in her hallway, adjusting the collar of a clean black suit jacket over my shoulders. Her fingers brushed against the thick bandages taped tightly around my ribs. A sharp, hot pain spiked through my torso, making me flinch and catch my breath with a low groan."I do not need to look pretty," I muttered, gritting my teeth until the room stopped spinning. "I just need to stand on my own two feet for twenty minutes.""Twenty minutes is enough time for Richard to buy three judges," Marcus said from the kitchen. He walked into the hallway carrying a dark leather document briefcase. His broad hands were still wrapped in white medical gauze from the fire, but his grip on the handle was like iron."The magistrate called in two extra bailiffs," Evelyn said, checking her watch. "It is eight-forty. If we are not inside Courtroom 4B before the gavel drops at nine, the judge can dismiss our petit

"Do not shoot him!"I screamed from the dark sewer pipe, my raw throat tearing on the soot and cold water. The lawyer smiled down at Marcus. It was a thin, cruel smirk that belonged in a courtroom, not a burning pit. "Toss up the blue folder, Leo," the lawyer said, his silver revolver steady in his right hand. "You have five seconds. One. Two."Marcus did not beg. He did not look afraid. His burned, blistered hands dug into the ash beside his hips. "Do not give him a damn page, kid," Marcus rasped, blood bubbling at the corner of his cracked lips. "Run the pipe. Get to the judge.""Three," the lawyer counted, his finger tightening on the silver trigger.From behind me in the dark tunnel, Evelyn reached past my shoulder. She wasn't holding a file. She was holding the heavy iron crowbar she had pulled from our smashed car trunk before we dropped into the pit. She did not hesitate. With a wild, desperate scream of pure rage, Evelyn lunged upward out of the drain opening and drove th

"Hold on to something!"Evelyn spun the steering wheel hard to the right. The sedan jumped the concrete curb, tires shrieking as we smashed through a rusted chain-link fence into the lower industrial freight yard. My head slammed against the window glass. The pain in my cracked ribs flared like a hot iron rod being twisted into my side. I cried out, doubling over, my hands clutching my soaked shirt as the dark blood seeped through my fingers."Leo, stay down!" Marcus yelled from the front seat, racking the bolt of his heavy rifle. "Keep your head below the headrest!"Behind us, two of the black police cruisers smashed through the same broken fence. Gunfire erupted immediately. Heavy bullets ripped through the rear windshield of our car, spraying sharp glass pebbles across my back and hair."They are not trying to pull us over!" Evelyn shouted, fighting the shaking wheel as the sedan fishtailed through deep muddy ruts between towering stacks of rusted shipping containers. "They are fi

"Get your hands off me!"Julian shrieked like a trapped rat as two state troopers pinned his arms behind his back. The cold steel handcuffs clicked around his wrists with a sharp, heavy snap."You cannot arrest me! Do you know who my father is? Father, tell them! Tell these animals who we are!"Richard did not step forward. He did not say a word. He stood frozen in the aisle, his face pale, his knuckles white as he watched every camera lens in the room swing from the stage to his son's shaking hands. The reporters were shouting questions at once, the flashes from their cameras lighting up the chaos like lightning."Mr. Sterling, is the Apex algorithm stolen property?""Did Sterling Global forge the municipal development permits?""Is this the real Vance heir?"Richard turned his back on the cameras, pushing his way through the crowd of horrified investors. Before he reached the heavy exit doors, his eyes locked onto mine on the stage. There was no fatherly look in those eyes. There wa