Chapter 4 - Truth and Blood
Norah stared at the barrel of the gun, her heart pounding against her ribs.
She didn't beg or cry, knowing men like Sebastian only respected cold, hard facts.
She took a deep breath and explained her past life as a police dispatcher in the city.
She told him how she had accidentally recorded Detective Vance coordinating a hit for the Moretti family, Sebastian's biggest rivals.
Vance had realized the recording existed, and Norah had been running for her life ever since.
Sebastian slowly lowered his weapon, the pieces of the puzzle snapping into place.
The Morettis hadn't sent Vance to kill Sebastian at the diner.
They had sent Vance to eliminate Norah, and they were planning to kill Sebastian simply because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Sebastian let out a dark chuckle, realizing the irony of a waitress saving his life.
He pulled a secure burner phone from his jacket to call his associates for backup.
The screen lit up with a single, untraceable text message.
Sebastian's face turned pale as he opened the attached image.
He showed the screen to Norah, and her breath hitched in her throat.
It was a picture of Dale, the diner cook, tied to a chair and bleeding from his forehead.
The text below the image read that if they didn't return to the diner in twenty minutes, the old man would die.
Norah felt a surge of guilt, knowing Dale was suffering because he had tried to protect her.
Sebastian started reloading his weapon, his eyes cold and focused.
He told Norah she could stay in the woods and run, or she could drive them back into a deadly trap.
Norah shifted the car into drive and turned the headlights back on.
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She told Sebastian she was tired of running.
They were going back to the Blue Pine.
