Chapter 4 - The Winter Road
The underground tunnel smelled of damp earth and old concrete. Marcus was already waiting by the matte-black reinforced Suburban, engine humming in the shadows, heavy rifle slung across his chest.
“Get in! Keep his head down!” Marcus barked, wrenching the heavy armored door open.
I threw Finn into the backseat, scrambled in after him, and pulled him down into the footwell between my knees, covering his small body completely with my own. The doors slammed shut, sealing us in soundproof darkness. Marcus hit the gas, and the heavy vehicle surged forward, bursting through the disguised steel exit gate half a mile down the private estate road.
Behind us, black smoke was rising into the gray Chicago sky above the Rossi estate.
Finn was shaking so hard his teeth were clicking together. “Harper… Harper, is the house broken?”
“The house is strong, Finn,” I whispered, stroking his hair, pressing my lips against his crown while my own heart threatened to tear out of my ribcage. “Your dad built it strong. It’s going to be okay.”
“He didn't come with us,” Finn sobbed, the tears soaking through my trousers. “He always stays behind.”
I had no answer for that. The cruelty of Victor’s world was that he had to be a monster to keep the other monsters at bay, but all his son saw was an empty seat at the breakfast table.
For two hours, we drove northwest in agonizing silence. Marcus drove like a man possessed, taking back roads, switching through industrial bypasses, constantly scanning his mirrors. Snow began to fall—thick, heavy flakes that quickly turned the highway into a white, blinding void.
My phone, tucked into my pocket, suddenly vibrated.
My fingers shook as I pulled it out. An unknown, encrypted number.
I swiped the screen and pressed it to my ear. “Hello?”
“Harper.”
The sound of his voice hit me like a physical blow. It was rough, ragged, breathing heavily. Behind him, I could hear sirens—real sirens, fading in the distance.
“Victor!” I gasped, keeping my voice low so Finn wouldn't jump. “Are you hurt? What happened?”
There was a long pause on the other end of the line. Just the sound of his ragged breathing.
“Is he with you?” Victor asked. “Is he safe?”
“He’s right here. He’s safe. Victor, answer me. Are you bleeding?”
Another beat of silence. It was infuriating how much effort it took him to admit mortality. “It’s nothing. Marcus will get you to the Lake Geneva house. The storm is coming down hard; nobody can track you through this blizzard.”
“And you?”
“I have business to finish in the city. The Morettis need to understand that some lines cannot be crossed.”
“Victor, don't do something stupid,” I pleaded, forgetting entirely that I was just the hired help, forgetting the vicious words we had traded only hours before. “Finn needs his father. He doesn't need an avenger, he needs *you*.”
A low, humorless laugh came through the speaker. “You really don't understand what I am, do you, Harper?”
“I know you’re a father!” I snapped. “I know you’re a man who stood alone in a hallway taking bullets so your son could escape! Stop pretending you’re made of stone!”
The silence that followed was heavy with something unspoken, something that pulled across the miles between us.
“I’ll be there tonight,” Victor said quietly. “Don't unlock the doors for anyone except me.”
The line went dead.
I pulled the phone from my ear, staring at the black screen.
“Harper?” Finn’s little voice piped up from my lap. He was looking up at me, his wide, dark eyes searching my face. “Was that Dad?”
I smoothed his hair back, swallowing the lump of emotion in my throat. “Yes, baby. That was Dad.”
“Is he coming?”
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“He’s coming,” I promised him. “He’s coming home.”
***