Chapter 5 - Escape into the Rain
The corridor of the east wing was a maze of shadows and flying lead as Norah dragged Declan down the grand staircase, away from the gunfire echoing above.
“Through the kitchens!” Declan breathed heavily, his weight leaning dangerously against her. “There’s a service tunnel behind the walk-in cooler. It leads to the carriage house.”
They burst through the heavy swing doors into the cavernous industrial kitchen. The gleaming steel counters and copper pots stood in ghostly silence, illuminated only by the pale moonlight streaming through the high windows. Outside, a torrential rain had begun to lash against the glass, drowning out the sounds of the estate in a roar of water and wind.
As they reached the heavy walk-in cooler, the back door of the kitchen burst open.
Tommy Lombardi stood in the doorway, blood dripping from a cut on his forehead, holding a 9mm pistol with a shaking, furious hand.
“You’re not getting off this property, Declan!” Tommy screamed over the sound of the rain.
Declan shoved Norah behind him, standing tall despite the blood pouring from his side, and reached into his coat pocket. He pulled out a heavy, old-fashioned brass key and jammed it into the service panel beside the cooler door.
Clack.
The back panel of the walk-in cooler swung open, revealing a dark, concrete subterranean tunnel stretching out into the stormy night.
“Go!” Declan shouted, shoving Norah into the tunnel.
As Declan turned to follow her, a gunshot cracked through the kitchen. The bullet grazed his shoulder, sending him stumbling into the darkness of the tunnel just as Norah slammed the heavy iron security door shut behind them, throwing the deadbolt into place.
Total darkness enveloped them, broken only by the sound of their own ragged breathing and the muffled pounding of Tommy’s fists against the iron door on the other side.
Declan slid down the concrete wall, clutching his chest, his breathing shallow and rapid.
“Norah…” he whispered in the dark.
May you like
“I’ve got you,” she panted, kneeling beside him in the freezing water pooling on the concrete floor. “We’re not dead yet.”
Declan let out a harsh, pained breath, his fingers closing weakly around her sleeve as the distant sound of thunder rolled across Baltimore.
