Chapter 7 - The Wilderness Refuge
The safe house was a rustic, two-story log cabin tucked deep into the dense pine forests of the Adirondack Mountains. It was surrounded by miles of state park land, accessible only by an unmapped dirt road that Marco’s driver had navigated without headlights in the dead of night.
Inside, the cabin was warm, insulated by thick cedar logs and a massive stone fireplace that Marco had stoked as soon as we arrived. There were no cameras here, no armed guards patrolling the lawns, no black SUVs idling in the driveway. It was just the forest, the snow beginning to fall outside, and the five of us.
"Hold still," I said, pressing a clean piece of gauze against Marco’s bare shoulder. He sat on a wooden stool by the kitchen counter, his jaw clenched as I used a pair of sterile tweezers to clean the bullet graze.
"You haven't lost your touch," he murmured, his voice low and gravelly in the quiet cabin. "You always were the best nurse at St. Jude's."
"I had to be," I said, applying a clean bandage and taping it down with practiced efficiency. "I was looking after your men for two years before I left."
Marco turned his head, his blue eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that made my breath hitch. The firelight cast long, golden shadows across his sharp features. "Why didn't you tell me, Sophia? About the baby? If I had known..."
"If you had known, you would have brought me back to that house," I said, a tear escaping my eye and falling onto his bare arm. "Your father was still alive then, Marco. He would have taken Emma and raised her to be a soldier’s wife or a target. I wanted her to have a choice."
"I am not my father," Marco said softly, reaching up to cup the side of my face with his large, warm hand. His thumb wiped the tear away. "I took the throne so I could change the rules, Sophia. I've spent the last three years liquidating our illegal assets, moving the money into legitimate shipping lines and real estate. I wanted to build a world where our children didn't have to hide."
May you like
He leaned closer, his forehead resting against mine. The smell of cedar smoke and his familiar warmth completely overwhelmed the six years of fear I had carried. "I didn't know I was building it for her, too. But now that I know... I will burn the entire syndicate to the ground before I let anyone touch her."
From the living room, we heard the soft sound of Oliver and Emma giggling as they shared a blanket by the hearth. They were safe. For now. But the dark world we had fled was still hunting us, and the final battle was closer than we knew.
