Chapter 8 - The Service Stairs
The deafening ringing in Norah's ears drowned out the agonizing groans of the mercenaries caught in the blast.
She pulled Declan with a frantic, desperate strength she never knew she possessed.
He tried to use his legs to help, but his body was completely shutting down from the massive blood loss.
They stumbled through a heavy metal fire door, collapsing onto the concrete landing of the service stairwell.
The air in the stairwell was cold and blessedly clear of the thick black smoke burning on the floor behind them.
Norah ripped the hem of her skirt again, tying a fresh, brutal tourniquet around his bleeding abdomen.
Declan coughed, a thin trickle of dark blood escaping the corner of his pale lips.
He looked at her, his dark eyes clouded with pain but shining with an intense, undeniable admiration.
He confessed that he had known exactly who she was since her very first day at the company.
He had personally assigned her to the executive floor to keep her away from the dangerous, illegal side of the business.
He had paid her mother's exorbitant nursing home bills anonymously through a shell charity for the past fourteen months.
He simply wanted to protect the brilliant, quiet girl who always stared out the window at the skyline.
Norah felt a hot tear track through the thick layer of dust and soot covering her face.
She realized the terrifying mafia boss had been quietly loving her from the shadows the entire time.
She grabbed his face, refusing to let him close his heavy eyelids as they sat on the cold concrete steps.
She promised him that if he stayed awake, she would finally let him take her out for a proper dinner.
Declan managed a weak, bloody smile, nodding slowly as he forced himself to stay conscious.
She hoisted his arm over her shoulder again, and together they began the agonizing descent down twenty-seven flights of stairs.
Every step was absolute torture, their progress painfully slow as the sounds of pursuit echoed faintly from far above.
They finally reached the heavy steel door marking the ground floor parking garage, the ultimate finish line.
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Norah pushed the door open, practically dragging Declan out into the damp, echoing expanse of the concrete garage.
Standing directly in front of the only exit ramp, covered in severe burns and holding an assault rifle, was Liam.
