Chapter 3 - The Fortress In The Shadow Of The Pines
The armored SUV tore through the winding mountain roads, tires churning through the deepening snowpack as midnight came and went. Inside the cabin of the vehicle, the only sound was the low hum of the climate control and the ragged rhythm of my breathing.
Luca had not let go of me for two straight hours. His left hand remained securely anchored over my stomach, feeling every movement of our unborn son, while his right hand continually checked the tactical radio resting between the front seats.
""Any tail?"" Luca asked Enzo, his voice tight and clipped.
""Lost them near the state divide, Boss,"" Enzo replied, watching the rearview mirror. ""Marco’s crew took the bait on the decoy sedan we dispatched toward Milwaukee. We have at least six hours before Carmine figures out we went south into the pine corridor.""
I leaned my head back against the buttery leather, closing my eyes as exhaustion pulled at every muscle in my body. The waitress apron was gone, discarded at the diner, leaving me in a faded oversized flannel shirt that barely covered my belly.
""Why didn't you come to me, Elena?""
The question was spoken so softly it was almost swallowed by the engine's purr. I turned my head to look at Luca. In the dim green glow of the dashboard lights, the exhaustion on his chiseled face was laid bare. Deep shadows circled his eyes. The regal, untouchable prince of the Chicago underworld looked like a man who had spent the last seven months burning in purgatory.
""Because the last thing I heard before my car hit the guardrail was your father’s lieutenant telling me that you had signed off on my execution,"" I confessed, my voice cracking under the weight of old terror. ""He said you needed the Fontaine alliance to secure your seat as Don. He said I was a weakness you couldn't afford once the family went to war.""
A sound of pure, strangled anguish escaped Luca’s throat. He reached up, his rough fingers cupping my jaw, tilting my face toward his. ""You were never my weakness, Elena. You were the only reason I kept my humanity in that butcher shop of a family. I would have burned Chicago to ash before I let anyone harm a hair on your head. When they dredged that crushed car out of the lake and told me you were inside the current... I nearly put a bullet through my own brain.""
Tears welled in my eyes, hot and fast. ""Luca...""
""Enzo stopped me,"" he whispered, his thumb brushing a tear from my cheek with heartbreaking gentleness. ""He reminded me that Carmine’s alibi was too clean. I stayed alive for one reason only: to find the person responsible and rip their heart out with my bare hands. And now I find out my father not only tried to murder you, but he knew you were carrying my child.""
His hand tightened over my stomach, a fierce, primal oath settling over his features. ""He will pay for every single day you spent hiding in that greasy diner. Every cold night. Every terrified breath. I will tear down the Caruso name until nothing remains but the earth we stand on.""
Twenty minutes later, the SUV turned off the unpaved mountain trail into a dense grove of evergreens. Hidden behind a natural wall of towering pines stood a massive stone and cedar lodge, completely invisible from the main road. Automated floodlights flashed on briefly, scanning the vehicle’s plates, before the heavy iron gates swung inward.
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""Welcome to Blackwood,"" Enzo said, killing the headlights as we rolled into the subterranean garage. ""Off the grid, satellite-shielded, and stocked with enough munitions to withstand a three-month siege.""
Luca stepped out first, then reached in and lifted me into his arms effortlessly, ignoring my mild protests that I was too heavy. ""You haven't rested in seven months, Elena,"" he murmured, carrying me across the threshold of the heated lodge. ""From this second on, you don't take another step you don't want to take. You are safe. You are home.""
