Chapter 6 - The Safe House
The helicopter ride from Oregon to a fortified compound in Montana was a silent, tense journey.
Maya sat in the back of the cabin, treating Elias's gunshot wound with supplies from her veterinary bag.
Gideon sat opposite her, holding a sleeping Leo against his chest as if the boy would vanish if he let go.
When they landed, armed guards escorted them into a massive, steel-reinforced lodge hidden in the mountains.
Gideon carried Leo up to a secure bedroom and tucked the boy in under heavy blankets.
When he walked back downstairs, Maya was waiting for him by the fireplace.
"Silas told me everything," Maya said quietly, staring at the burning logs.
"He told me about the poison, the fake diagnosis, the reason you really signed those papers."
Gideon stopped in the center of the room, looking exhausted and vulnerable.
"I thought my nervous system was shutting down," Gideon confessed, his voice barely a whisper.
"The doctors told me I would lose my motor functions, my memory, my dignity."
"I couldn't let you watch me become a vegetable, Maya."
Maya walked across the room and placed her hand on his bloodstained chest.
"You should have given me the choice to stay," she said, tears filling her eyes.
"I took a vow to be with you in sickness and in health."
Gideon reached up and touched her face, his thumb wiping away her tears.
"I was a coward," he admitted, his voice breaking.
"I thought I was saving you, but I just destroyed us both."
He pulled her into his arms, burying his face in her neck, holding her like a drowning man holding onto a lifeline.
For the first time in five years, Maya felt entirely safe.
She wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and forgave him without saying a single word.
Suddenly, the heavy steel doors of the main hall slammed open.
Elias limped into the room, his face pale and his encrypted tablet flashing red.
"Boss, we have a massive problem," Elias said urgently.
Gideon instantly stepped in front of Maya, shielding her.
"What is it?" Gideon demanded.
"Silas didn't act alone," Elias explained, holding up a intercepted video feed.
"He formed an alliance with the remnants of Victor Crowe's syndicate."
May you like
Elias turned the tablet around so they could see the screen.
"They have surrounded this compound with fifty heavily armed mercenaries, and they are demanding you surrender the boy."
