Chapter 14 - The River Escape
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The drainage pipe was freezing and smelled of rot. Norah crawled through the muck, scraping her knees on the concrete, the sounds of gunfire growing fainter the deeper she went.
She emerged at the muddy bank of the river, gasping for the cold night air. She looked back toward the cabin. Flames were licking the roof, illuminating the trees in an angry orange glow.
Tears pricked her eyes. Damian was in there. He had sacrificed himself so she could escape.
"Don't cry," she whispered to herself, wiping her face with a muddy sleeve. "Think."
She couldn't save Damian by weeping in the mud. She had to get to the city. She had to get the ledger. It was the only way to destroy the Romanos and avenge the man who had protected her.
She trudged through the woods until she reached a desolate country road. She hid in the ditch until an old pickup truck rumbled past. She stepped out, waving her arms frantically.
The truck screeched to a halt. An elderly farmer leaned out the window, his eyes widening at the sight of the blood-stained, muddy woman.
"Dear Lord, miss, are you alright?"
"I need to get to Manhattan," Norah said, her voice eerily calm, devoid of all emotion. "It’s a matter of life and death. I have five thousand dollars in emergency cash in my pocket. It's yours if you drive fast."
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The farmer didn't ask questions. He popped the passenger door open.
As the truck sped toward the city, Norah stared out the window into the darkness. The bookish secretary had died in that burning cabin. The woman sitting in the truck was a Beluchcci. And she was going to burn the Romanos to the ground.
