Chapter 5 - The Safehouse
"You are lying to me," Norah whispered, backing away from the makeshift operating table.
"My brother is a gambling addict, he is not a syndicate assassin."
Dominic grunted in pain as Victor helped him sit up, a fresh bandage wrapped tightly around his chest.
"Your brother has been working as a hitman for the Tarasov family for three years, Norah."
"The debt was a complete fabrication to force you into my protection before Ivan realized Liam's true identity."
Norah shook her head violently, refusing to accept that her beloved older brother was a murderer.
"I don't believe a single word you say," she cried out, turning toward the grand exit.
"Where are you going?" Dominic demanded, his voice weak but commanding.
"I am going to find Liam and ask him myself," she replied fiercely.
"If you walk out that door, Ivan's men will butcher you to punish me," Dominic warned.
He stood up, swaying slightly, and grabbed his bloody jacket.
"Simon, prep the secondary safehouse in the mountains, we have a leak in this estate."
"If Liam knew exactly where to aim in that alley, someone in our inner circle gave him the layout."
They abandoned the grand stone mansion, piling into an unremarkable gray sedan.
Simon drove them deep into the desolate, snow-covered mountains of the state.
The safehouse was a modest wooden cabin completely hidden by towering pine trees.
Dominic collapsed onto a worn leather sofa, the adrenaline finally leaving his system.
Norah sat in a wooden chair across the room, watching him with a mixture of anger and undeniable medical concern.
"Why go through all this trouble to protect the sister of a man trying to kill you?" she asked softly.
Dominic looked at her, the flickering light of the fireplace dancing in his dark eyes.
"Because in a world full of monsters, you are the only completely good thing I have ever encountered."
His words struck a chord deep within her chest, warming the freezing panic in her veins.
Before she could respond, the heavy steel door of the cabin slammed shut with a definitive, mechanical click.
Simon stood on the outside of the window, his face entirely blank as he engaged the heavy exterior deadbolts.
"Simon, what the hell are you doing?" Dominic shouted, stumbling toward the door.
May you like
Simon did not answer, but instead tossed a small metal canister through the chimney vent before walking away into the woods.
Thick, green, suffocating smoke began to pour rapidly into the locked cabin.
