Chapter 25: The Aftermath of the Blood
The state police investigators arrived two hours later, accompanied by a forensic team that transformed our sanctuary into a brightly lit crime scene. The two attackers were identified as low-level enforcers from the city syndicate, men who had been on the run since the grand jury indictments.
Officer Davis was among the local police who responded to the scene. He stood in the wreckage of our kitchen, looking at the bullet holes with a mixture of awe and horror. "You really are what they say you are," he muttered.
"They tried to kill my family, Davis," I said coldly, my hands stained with soot and gunpowder. "This isn't a game. This is what happens when you let corruption take root in your town. It brings the monsters right to your door."
The local chief of police attempted to put a positive spin on the incident, suggesting that the threat was now eliminated, but I knew better. These two were just the scouts. The people who had sent them were still out there, sitting in comfortable offices in the city, waiting to see if their investments would be recovered.
Mara stood by the ambulance, a thermal blanket wrapped around her and Leo. She wasn't crying; her face was set in stone, an expression of grim resolve that looked terrifyingly like my own.
"We can't stay here," she said when I walked over to her. "The house is compromised. The town isn't safe."
"I know," I replied. "But we aren't running away this time. We’re going back to the city."
May you like
"The city?" She looked at me in disbelief. "That’s where they are."
"Exactly," I said, looking at the sunrise breaking over the icy harbor. "They think they can hunt us out here because we’re isolated. In the city, I have resources. I have the federal task force. We’re going to find whoever ordered this strike, and we’re going to bury them under the same courthouse steps we stood on last month."
