Chapter 2 - She Was Supposed to Let Him Die
Leora had never stitched a human being before.
She had stitched ripped curtains.
A torn winter coat.
Her own finger once after breaking a glass.
None of that mattered now.
Leo lay on the cabin floor, pale and barely conscious.
She heated a metal instrument over the small fire.
“You're sure about this?”
“No.”
“Good.”
He looked at her.
“You should be terrified.”
“I am.”
“Then why aren't you running?”
She glanced toward the door.
“Because you're already half dead.”
“That usually encourages people.”
“I'm not people.”
He smiled faintly.
“No.”
The procedure was brutal.
Leora removed the bullet fragment she could reach.
She packed the wound.
She stitched the torn tissue.
Leo bit down on a strip of leather.
He refused to scream.
But once, his hand grabbed her wrist hard enough to bruise.
“Sorry,” she whispered.
“Don't be.”
When it was over, he was sweating.
The wound remained dangerous.
But the bleeding slowed.
Leora collapsed beside him.
“Thank God.”
Leo's eyes opened.
“You did good.”
She looked at him.
“You don't know if I did.”
“I’m alive.”
“For now.”
“That counts.”
She covered him with blankets.
Then she sat beside the fire.
They waited.
Hours passed.
The storm worsened.
At dawn, the world outside was white.
The men were gone.
For the moment.
Leo woke around seven.
Leora handed him water.
“Drink.”
He did.
“Where did you learn that?”
“What?”
“To treat wounds.”
“I didn't.”
He stared.
“You didn't?”
“No.”
“Then why did you know how?”
“My mother.”
“Your mother?”
“She was a nurse.”
Leo looked away.
“What happened to her?”
“Cancer.”
His expression softened.
“I'm sorry.”
“Thank you.”
For a while, neither spoke.
Then Leo said:
“Why didn't you leave me?”
Leora stared at the fire.
“You asked me that already.”
“I want a real answer.”
She thought about it.
“My mother taught me something.”
“What?”
“That you learn who you are when nobody is watching.”
Leo looked at her.
“She told me never to become cruel just because life was cruel to me.”
He was silent.
“And?”
“And I couldn't leave a man bleeding on the floor.”
“You knew what my family was.”
“Yes.”
“You knew I could be dangerous.”
“Yes.”
“You still saved me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Leora looked at him.
“Maybe because you're not just your last name.”
Something in his face changed.
He looked away.
“My father would disagree.”
“Your father isn't here.”
“He usually is.”
She frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Leo stared at the ceiling.
“My father doesn't trust anyone.”
“Why?”
“He was betrayed by his closest people.”
“Samuel?”
Leo nodded.
“Samuel was like a brother.”
“What happened?”
“He sold everything.”
“How?”
“He gave access codes to our enemies.”
“Why?”
“Money.”
Leora looked skeptical.
“Just money?”
“No.”
Leo hesitated.
“Power.”
She understood.
People like Samuel didn't betray men like Vincenzo Moretti for cash alone.
They wanted the throne.
“What were they after?”
Leo looked at her.
“You.”
She froze.
“What?”
“Not you specifically.”
“Then what?”
“Me.”
Leora exhaled.
“That makes more sense.”
“They need me alive.”
“Why?”
“Because I'm the only person who knows where my father's hidden accounts are.”
She stared.
“You memorized them?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“My father taught me.”
“Why would he trust you?”
Leo laughed bitterly.
“He didn't.”
That answer stayed between them.
Later, when the storm eased, Leo tried to stand.
He nearly collapsed.
Leora caught him.
“You're staying here.”
“I can't.”
“You have two bullets removed from your body.”
“One bullet.”
She stared.
“What?”
“The second one passed through.”
She looked at the blood on his shirt.
“That's not better.”
“No.”
He leaned against the wall.
“You should leave.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because the men may come back.”
“Then you should go before they do.”
“You're coming with me.”
“To where?”
“My sister's apartment.”
“No.”
She frowned.
“You need help.”
“I can't bring them there.”
“Then where?”
Leo looked at the old map hanging above the fireplace.
“There is another property.”
“Safe?”
“Maybe.”
She laughed.
“Excellent.”
He smiled.
“There's an old train station twenty miles south.”
“That sounds romantic.”
“It isn't.”
“Good.”
They waited until dark.
Then they left.
Leora supported Leo through the snow.
They moved slowly.
At the edge of the forest, they heard engines.
They ducked behind a fallen tree.
Three SUVs passed.
One stopped.
A man stepped out.
Samuel.
Leo's expression hardened.
Leora whispered:
“That's him?”
“Yes.”
Samuel looked directly toward the trees.
For a second, Leora thought they had been discovered.
Then he got back into the vehicle.
They waited.
Finally, they moved.
The train station was abandoned.
Inside, there were broken benches and rusted tracks.
Leo found an old maintenance room.
They hid there.
Leora gave him water.
Then she checked his wound.
The bleeding had started again.
Leo looked at her.
“You did everything right.”
“Then why are you bleeding?”
“Because some things don't stop just because we want them to.”
She hated that answer.
She opened the medical kit again.
Nothing.
Then she remembered something.
Her mother had taught her a pressure technique used after emergency surgery.
She used it.
The blood slowed.
Leo breathed easier.
“Thank you.”
“You're welcome.”
He looked at her.
“What do you want?”
She frowned.
“What?”
“Money.”
“I don't want money.”
“Everyone wants money.”
“I want my sister alive.”
Leo became still.
“How much?”
She hesitated.
“Eighty-four thousand dollars.”
“I can pay it.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I don't want a debt.”
“What if it's a gift?”
She stared at him.
“I don't accept gifts from dangerous men.”
“Then let me make a deal.”
“What deal?”
“You save my life.”
“And?”
“I pay your sister's medical bills.”
Leora shook her head.
“That's still a debt.”
“No.”
He looked at her.
“It's repayment.”
“For what?”
“For bringing me back from death.”
She looked away.
“I haven't yet.”
“Then don't quit.”
She almost smiled.
But before she could answer, a gunshot echoed outside.
They froze.
Someone was approaching the station.
Leo pulled Leora into the shadows.
The door opened.
Samuel walked inside.
And he wasn't alone.
May you like
He had brought the entire Virelli hunting team.
The traitor had found them.
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