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Verona was done.
I turned and spat at my father’s dead face and shoved my foot into his side. His body was heavy, heavier than I imagined and I felt my toe throb from the kick.
I took Roman’s hand and we ran down the halls I had once called home and toward the exit.
The cops were everywhere. I could see the cars lining the drive all the way down to the road.
“We can’t leave here.”
Roman nodded and we ran back inside, hearing them call out our names on their loudspeakers, I could barely breathe as we ran. I led him down a hall, past the kitchen, and toward the basement. I knew my grandfather had created a secret tunnel that could lead him anywhere he wanted in the city. I just had to find it.
“What’s down here?” Roman asked.
“Just trust me,” I said. “Look for a door or a secret latch or something on the wall.”
He didn’t doubt me. I felt the trust he had in me as he started to look everywhere for the secret door.
This may just be delaying the inevitable but I had the distinct feeling that we may just escape from this.
Maybe.
“Here,” I heard him call out. I ran over to the portrait that hung on the wall above a chest. Roman picked it up and off the wall, throwing it to the side of the room. The frame broke and ripped the painting apart. The door had a lock and it looked like an old key fit in it.
“Shit.”
Roman moved the chest from the floor. When he came back, he pulled his gun from his holster and shot at the lock. The sound echoed loudly in the basement but the door opened.
“Shit,” he said. “It’s dark as fuck down here.”
“Well yeah,” I replied. “It’s underground.”
I took out my phone and turned the torch on to light our way. I had no idea the last time this tunnel had been used but the air was stale.
The sound of the cops bursting in above us had us moving quickly. Roman led the way, pulling webs down in front of us before they got to me. My heart could have exploded with the chivalry if we weren’t already running for our lives.
The tunnel was long, and I had no idea how long it would take but with Roman, I felt safe and in charge. I didn’t care if we died tonight, so long as I went in his arms.
My hope was growing at being able to get away without dying in a gunfight tonight.
Maybe, just maybe, we could have our happily ever after.
Chapter Eleven
Roman
We’d been in this damn tunnel for what felt like hours but I knew it could have only been at least twenty minutes. It felt like it was going to go on until we hit the beach but suddenly, in the dim light from Jolie’s phone, I saw a wooden door. I took my gun out and aimed it at the lock but at the last minute I saw it wasn’t latched. I held Jolie back and kicked the door as hard as I could. It flung open and instantly I knew where I was.
“No way.”
“What is it?” she asked me as we stepped through into the familiar looking room. I’d been in this room when I was a kid, hiding out from the abusive as fuck father in the one place I knew I would be safe.
That was before Enzo had created his safe haven quarters above ground.
“We’re under the church.”
“What? It led here?” she asked, looking around at all the historical clerical artifacts Enzo stored down here. A large cross that I remembered sat in the corner, covered in dust. That cross had been the only thing that had kept me hidden from my father when he had stormed the church looking for me.
It was that same cross that had been tattooed on my back. The tattoo that intimidated my opponents, because I was a God fearing man. I did believe in Him and I listened to His word. Every life I took, I knew they would go to their judgment and at the end of the day I knew He would understand my reasons.
