Chapter 15: The Road Out of the Dark
Miller’s expression didn't change, but the silence that followed Julian’s words stretched long and tight, filled only by the distant drip of water from a leaky pipe in the corner of the foundation. She looked at Julian for a long, measuring moment, weighing the risk of a federal wire against the mess of a double homicide in a damp basement. Then she lowered the pistol slightly, turning her gaze toward the man behind her. "Get the car around to the side door," Miller said softly, her voice cold as winter gravel. She turned back to Julian, her eyes hard. "You have ten minutes, Julian. After that, you don't exist, and neither do we." She didn't wait for an answer; she turned and walked back up the wooden steps, her coat brushing the yellow wall, the heavy boots of the guard following her in slow, rhythmic succession until the basement door clicked shut overhead. Julian didn't waste a second. He grabbed Leo’s hand, pulled Maya closer against his side, and started toward the bulkhead doors that led directly out to the open gravel drive. Clara followed them, her high heels clicking unevenly on the concrete, her face turned toward the dark floor. They pushed open the heavy iron doors, and the cold, wet air of the American night hit them all at once—smelling of pine, wet asphalt, and the sharp, clean promise of a road that finally led somewhere else.
