Chapter 10
The escape from the Vale estate was a frantic, terrifying blur. Under the cover of the raging winter blizzard, Silas and a team of Damon’s most trusted loyalists escorted Elise, Martha, and a groggy Lucy through a hidden subterranean tunnel that led to a private airstrip miles away from the compromised mansion.
Elise sat in the plush leather seat of the Gulfstream jet, staring out the small window into the pitch-black sky as the engines roared to life. She clutched the metal key and the encrypted drive in her hands, the cold metal biting into her palms. Beside her, Martha was strapped in securely, holding a sleeping Lucy across her lap.
"He will survive this, Elise," Martha whispered, reaching across the aisle to squeeze the younger woman's hand. "He is a survivor."
"He is facing the federal government and every rival syndicate alone," Elise replied, her clear eyes hollow with fear and grief. "He stayed behind to give us time to vanish."
As the jet hurtled down the runway and lifted off into the storm, Elise closed her eyes, recalling the final, desperate kiss Damon had pressed to her lips before shoving her into the armored transport vehicle. It was a kiss that promised forever, even if forever meant waiting in the shadows.
Months passed. The safe house in the Swiss Alps was a stunning, isolated fortress of glass and timber overlooking a frozen lake. Elise had easily slipped into the role of a mother to Lucy, raising the bright, energetic toddler with boundless love, while Martha enjoyed the peaceful, luxurious retirement she had been brutally denied.
But the silence from America was deafening.
Elise monitored the international news daily. She read about the spectacular fall of the Arden syndicate, the federal raids on the Vale properties, and the bloody street wars that had consumed the eastern seaboard. But Damon’s name vanished from the headlines after the first week. He had become a ghost in his own city.
It was a crisp spring morning when the isolation finally broke.
Elise was standing on the wooden deck overlooking the melting snow, holding a cup of coffee. She wore a thick cream sweater, her loose hair blowing in the mountain breeze. Down by the lake, Martha was throwing snowballs for a massive, gentle St. Bernard they had adopted, while Lucy giggled and chased the dog in her little red boots.
Suddenly, the encrypted satellite phone inside the cabin began to ring.
Elise dropped her coffee mug. It shattered on the wooden deck, dark liquid seeping into the snow. She sprinted inside, her heart hammering a frantic rhythm against her ribs. The phone sat on the kitchen counter, flashing a bright, persistent green light. Only one person had the frequency to call that device.
Her hands shook violently as she picked it up and pressed the answer button. She held the cold plastic to her ear, unable to speak, terrified of hearing a stranger's voice on the other end.
For a long moment, there was nothing but static.
Then, a deep, familiar rumble echoed through the speaker.
"I told you to wait for me."
Elise let out a massive, tearing sob, collapsing to her knees on the hardwood floor. "Damon... Damon, is it you? Are you safe?"
"The federal charges were dropped," Damon said, his voice laced with the weariness of a man who had fought through hell. "I found the real shooter Elias hired. He confessed to everything. The rival syndicates have been brought to heel. It's over, Elise."
"Where are you?" she cried, tears streaming down her fair cheeks.
"Look out the front window," Damon murmured.
Elise scrambled to her feet and ran to the massive floor-to-ceiling window facing the private mountain road. Standing at the edge of the driveway, wearing a heavy dark overcoat, was Damon Vale. He looked older, hardened by the brutal war he had waged, but as he looked up at the window and saw her, a profound, breathtaking smile broke across his angular jaw.
Before Elise could run to the door, the satellite phone crackled again. Damon’s voice dropped, carrying a chilling, serious tone that froze her in her tracks.
May you like
"I'm here, Elise. But I didn't come alone. And the man who helped me clear my name... is going to want something in return."
Elise stared through the glass as a second, heavily armored black SUV pulled up behind Damon's, its tinted windows hiding the new, unknown threat. The war for the city was over, but the battle for their freedom had just begun.
