CHAPTER 12: EMERGENCE
When the red and blue emergency lights washed over the snow-covered clearing, Marco walked back into the silent cabin. His vest was torn, his knuckles bruised, but his footsteps were light.
He approached the rug, pulled it aside, and knocked on the wood: *three slow beats, then two quick ones.*
The bolt clicked. The trapdoor slowly opened, and Dante emerged first, his eyes wide and red-rimmed. Seeing Marco alive, Dante collapsed back against the ladder in sheer relief.
"Leo is safe, Dante," Marco said softly. "The feds picked him up ten minutes ago. It's over."
Then came Lily. She climbed up the ladder, her red dress smudged with dust. She stopped, looking around the bullet-riddled cabin, and then looked at Marco.
She didn't see the blood on his knuckles or the chaos around them. She only saw the man who had promised to be her shield. Lily ran across the floorboards and threw her arms around Marco's waist, burying her face into his sweater.
Marco knelt down, ignoring the sharp pain in his broken ribs, and wrapped his arms tightly around her.
May you like
"You did it, Lily," Marco whispered into her hair, his own eyes finally glistening with unshed tears. "The storm is over."
---
