PART 14 – Approaching Danger in the Dark
The sound of the approaching car drew closer and closer. The heavy engines roared through the quiet mountain valley and echoed against the steep rock faces. Who on earth could know we were here? We had left no trace, used no phones, and the drive to the cabin had been carried out in complete secrecy.
Luca walked with fast, silent steps to the window, pushed the heavy wooden shutter open a crack, and peered out into the pitch-black night. A beam of headlights cut through the fog and shone brightly across the tree line, right toward the cabin's driveway.
"They found us," Luca whispered, but his voice didn't sound fearful; it sounded combative, like a pilot preparing for an emergency landing in a storm.
"How... how is that possible?" I blurted out, pressing Vittoria—who had woken up from the commotion and started whimpering softly—tightly against me. "We didn't have reception! They couldn't track us, right?"
"They didn't need phone signals," Luca snapped as he walked quickly through the room and checked the heavy bolts on the doors. "Stefano's accomplices work with professional mercenaries. They probably checked the dashcam of the rental car or scanned our license plates with a traffic camera at the toll plaza before we left the highway."
The car stopped with a screeching brake down by the front door. The doors slammed shut. Heavy footsteps crunched over the gravel of the path toward the entrance.
My heart pounded in my throat. I wanted to scream in terror, but I held back so as not to frighten Vittoria even more. Luca walked to the hallway closet, opened a hidden hatch in the wall, and pulled out a heavy, legal hunting shotgun—a relic from the days when his uncle hunted in the mountains.
"Elena, listen to me very carefully," Luca said with iron calm as he looked me straight in the eyes. "Take Vittoria and go to the back bedroom. There's a small hatch there leading to an old storage cellar. If anything happens... hide down there and don't come out until you hear my voice. Understand?"
"No! I'm not leaving without you!" I cried, tears streaming down my cheeks. "I can't lose you too!"
"You're not losing me," Luca replied, and for the first time I saw a soft, vulnerable smile on his face as he quickly walked over to me and cupped my face in his hands. He pressed a quick, fierce kiss to my forehead. "Go now, Elena. For Vittoria."
Before I could answer, a loud, threatening thump echoed on the wooden front door. The front doorknob began to violently spin around.
