Chapter 3 - The Blood on the Floor
The sound of shattering glass was entirely eclipsed by the roar of the weapons.
Nora hit the hardwood floor hard, scraping her elbows.
Wood splintered violently above her head as bullets tore through the expensive mahogany tables.
Patrons screamed in sheer terror, scrambling blindly for the exits.
Roman kicked the heavy solid oak table over, creating a thick wooden barricade between them and the shooters.
He drew a heavy matte black pistol from his shoulder holster with terrifying speed.
"Stay flat," he ordered Nora.
Tommy was already returning fire.
His hand cannon echoed like thunder inside the enclosed space.
One of the men in heavy coats jerked backward as Tommy’s bullet caught him in the shoulder.
"We need to move to the kitchen," Roman shouted over the chaos.
He blindly fired two shots over the barricade to keep the attackers pinned down.
He grabbed the collar of Nora’s waitress uniform.
He practically dragged her across the floor behind the cover of the booths.
Arthur the manager was huddled behind the hostess stand, sobbing uncontrollably.
"My restaurant," Arthur wailed, clutching his head.
Roman ignored him, pulling Nora toward the swinging metal doors of the kitchen.
They burst through the doors, slipping on the slick tile floor.
The kitchen staff had already abandoned their stations.
Pots of boiling water hissed loudly on the unattended stoves.
"The back alley," Nora gasped, pointing toward the heavy steel fire exit.
"Tommy, cover the doors," Roman instructed.
He pushed Nora behind him as they approached the exit.
Roman kicked the heavy push-bar of the fire door.
It flew open, revealing the freezing, dark alleyway behind the restaurant.
Nora took a step outside, desperate to breathe fresh air.
A massive shadow detached itself from the brick wall.
A man stepped into the dim light of the alley.
He was holding a sawed-off shotgun aimed directly at Nora’s chest.
"Going somewhere, little bird?" the man chuckled.
Nora froze, the barrel of the gun entirely filling her vision.
Before she could even blink, Roman stepped smoothly in front of her.
He did not flinch.
He raised his pistol and fired a single shot directly into the center of the man’s forehead.
The man collapsed in a heap of dead weight.
"Keep moving," Roman said coldly, stepping completely over the bleeding corpse.
Nora stared at him in horror, realizing she was tethered to a monster to survive other monsters.
She ran after him down the dark, narrow alley.
They reached the street corner just as a sleek black SUV screeched to a halt in front of them.
The side door slid open violently.
Nora braced herself for another attack.
Instead, a familiar face looked down at her from the back seat.
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It was a man she had mourned for over a decade.
"Get in, Nora," her older brother Leo said.
