Chapter 9 - THE TRUTH ABOUT THE NIGHT SHE LEFT
The police arrived before sunrise.
Not ordinary police.
Federal agents.
Roman had contacted an investigator who had been building a case against Gabriel and Victor for years.
The ledger contained enough evidence to bring down half the network.
But Norah still had one question.
She sat in the back of an armored vehicle while Roman received treatment for his shoulder.
“Why did you never find me?” she asked.
Roman looked at her.
“I did.”
Her expression changed.
“What?”
“I found you in Philadelphia. Then Pittsburgh. Then Richmond.”
Norah stared.
“You knew?”
“I knew where you were.”
“Then why didn’t you come?”
Roman looked down at his hands.
“Because I saw you in a grocery store in Pittsburgh.”
Norah’s breath caught.
“You were there?”
“You were buying flowers.”
She remembered that day.
A man in a dark coat had stood near the entrance.
She had assumed he was following her.
Roman continued, “You were laughing with an old woman near the checkout. You looked peaceful.”
Norah looked away.
“So you left me alone?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I finally understood that finding you didn’t mean I had the right to take you back.”
Her eyes filled.
“Then why did you come into Lombardi’s?”
“Because Gabriel found you first.”
She closed her eyes.
Roman continued, “I didn’t know you were in danger until tonight. If I had known, I would have come sooner.”
“That’s what scares me.”
He looked at her.
“What?”
“That part of me still believes you would have saved me.”
Roman said nothing.
Norah wiped her face.
“I hated you for so long.”
“I know.”
“I wanted you to regret everything.”
“I do.”
She looked at him.
“Do you regret losing me, or do you regret what you did?”
Roman answered without hesitation.
“What I did.”
The vehicle slowed.
Frank opened the rear door.
“Boss, Gabriel’s been located.”
Roman turned toward him.
“Where?”
“Inside Lombardi’s.”
Norah’s face went pale.
“He went back there?”
Frank nodded.
“He’s holding Arthur and two employees.”
Roman looked at Norah.
“You stay here.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“Norah.”
“He knows the restaurant. He knows the staff. I know the back corridors.”
Roman’s voice hardened.
“I’m not risking you.”
“You don’t get to make that decision anymore.”
He stared at her.
Then he nodded once.
“Stay beside me.”
Norah looked into his eyes.
“That’s not a command, is it?”
“No.”
“Good.”
May you like
She stepped out of the vehicle.
Together, they walked toward the restaurant where everything had begun.
