Chapter 7 - The Road To The Cabin
The cabin disintegrated around us. Wood splintered, glass shattered, and the deafening roar of automatic gunfire drowned out my screams.
Luca shielded my body with his own, the heavy Kevlar of his suit pressing against me. He dragged me across the floor, away from the windows, toward the rusted iron stove.
“They tracked my SUV!” Luca shouted over the noise. “Stay down, Rachel!”
The gunfire stopped abruptly. The helicopter hovered low, its spotlight sweeping the perimeter.
“Moretti!” a voice boomed over a loudspeaker from the chopper. “Throw the ledger out the door, and we let the girl live! You have ten seconds!”
I clutched the heavy leather book to my chest. “Luca, we have to give it to them! They have Lily!”
Luca’s eyes were cold and calculating. “If we give them the ledger now, we lose our only leverage. They’ll kill us here, and they won't spare Lily. They leave no witnesses, Rachel.”
“Then what do we do?!”
Luca reached into his jacket and pulled out a small, heavy spherical object. A smoke grenade.
“When I throw this, you run for the back door,” Luca commanded. “Head straight for the tree line. Do not stop. I will draw their fire.”
“No! I won't leave you!”
Luca grabbed my face, his hands surprisingly gentle despite the chaos. “You have the ledger. You are the only one who can trade it for Lily. Run!”
He pulled the pin and hurled the grenade through the shattered front window.
Thick, blinding white smoke instantly flooded the clearing.
“Go!” Luca roared, firing his handgun at the helicopter to draw their attention.
I scrambled to my feet, clutching the ledger, and bolted for the back door. I burst out into the freezing rain and sprinted into the dense pine forest. Branches whipped my face, tearing my clothes, but I didn't stop.
I heard Luca’s gunfire behind me, followed by the heavy return fire from the chopper.
I ran until my lungs burned and my legs gave out. I collapsed behind a massive fallen oak tree, gasping for air in the dark.
I checked my phone. 11:15 PM.
I had forty-five minutes to get to Pier 4. But I was stranded in the mountains, miles from the city, and Luca was trapped in a firefight.
I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to fight off a panic attack.
Suddenly, a heavy hand clamped over my mouth from behind.
I thrashed violently, screaming into the leather glove, kicking my legs.
“Quiet!” a gruff voice hissed in my ear.
I was dragged backward into the brush. I twisted around, ready to gouge my attacker’s eyes out.
It was Daniel.
The massive security chief was covered in mud and holding a suppressed rifle.
“Daniel! How—”
“Boss sent me in a secondary vehicle the moment you left the estate,” Daniel whispered, helping me up. “He knew they’d track his SUV. He used himself as bait so we could get you out.”
Tears of relief flooded my eyes. “Is Luca—”
“He’ll survive. He’s a Moretti,” Daniel said grimly. “But we need to move. I have a car hidden half a mile down the ridge. We have a meeting at Pier 4.”
We ran through the mud and rain. True to his word, Daniel had a sleek black sedan hidden under camouflage netting.
We tore down the mountain, racing against the clock.
At 11:55 PM, we pulled into the abandoned, rusted shipping yards of Pier 4.
The rain had stopped, leaving a heavy, chilling fog rolling off the dark ocean water.
Daniel handed me a small earpiece. “Keep this in. I’ll be in the rafters with a sniper rifle. If they make a move to hurt you or the kid, drop to the ground.”
I nodded, clutching the ledger.
I walked out into the open pier alone. The fog swirled around my ankles. The smell of salt and rust was overwhelming.
“I’m here!” I yelled into the darkness. “I have the ledger! Give me Lily!”
A spotlight snapped on from a towering crane above, blinding me.
A figure stepped out of the shadows.
It wasn't a Rossi hitman.
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It was Grant.
He was holding a gun to Lily’s head.
