Chapter 10
Nora let out a breath she felt she had been holding for four years.
She slumped against the cold concrete wall, trembling so violently her teeth chattered.
Silas walked over to her, his dark eyes scanning her carefully for any injuries.
He knelt down to Lily's eye level, ignoring the blood dripping from his own chin.
"Are you okay, little one?" Silas asked softly.
Lily nodded slowly, clutching the tarnished brass key tightly in her small fist.
"You fight like a monster," Lily whispered, her wide eyes staring at his bloody shirt.
"Sometimes, you have to be a monster to protect the people who deserve to live," Silas replied seriously.
Victor hoisted the wounded man back onto his shoulder with a pained grunt.
"We can't stay down here, Boss," Victor warned.
"The cops will be swarming the diner above us any minute."
Silas stood up, his face hardening back into the mask of a ruthless crime lord.
"There is an access grate two blocks east that leads into an abandoned subway terminal," Silas instructed.
"We move there. My extraction team will be waiting."
They walked for another brutal twenty minutes through the freezing, knee-deep water.
Nora's legs felt like lead, but the fear of dying in the dark pushed her forward.
They finally reached a rusted iron ladder bolted to the wall, leading to a heavy street-level manhole cover.
Silas climbed up first, pressing his broad shoulders against the heavy iron disc.
With a massive heave, he pushed the cover aside, letting the freezing October rain pour into the tunnel.
May you like
He climbed out onto the slick pavement of an empty alleyway and reached his hand down.
He pulled Nora up first, then lifted Lily out of the darkness with surprising gentleness.
