Chapter 8 - THE FEVERED DREAMS IN THE CABIN OF THE FORGOTTEN WOODS
The drive to the border felt like a journey through purgatory.
The snow never stopped,
creating a world without borders,
without landmarks,
without hope.
Savannah drifted in and out of consciousness,
her body burning with a sudden,
violent fever.
She dreamt of the estate,
of the long hallways where the shadows of Roman’s ancestors watched her.
She saw herself walking through the nursery,
but instead of a crib,
there was a golden cage.
In her dream,
Roman was locking the door,
smiling with that cold,
perfect smile.
"You can never leave,"
he whispered,
his voice sounding like the crunch of ice underfoot.
She woke up screaming,
the sound startling the baby.
"Easy,
easy,"
Elena said,
pressing a damp cloth to Savannah’s forehead.
They were in the cabin now,
a small,
drafty structure hidden deep in the pine woods.
The smell of woodsmoke was thick in the air,
mingling with the scent of pine and old blankets.
Julian was sitting by the stove,
cleaning the wound on his hand where the metal pipe had cut him.
"The fever is a reaction to the stress and the infection,"
Elena explained,
forcing a bitter-tasting tea down Savannah’s throat.
"You need to stay awake,
Savannah."
"Maya needs you."
The mention of her daughter’s name acted like a tonic.
Savannah sat up,
her muscles screaming in protest.
She reached for Maya,
who was sleeping in a laundry basket near the fire.
She was so small,
so vulnerable,
and yet she was the reason the most powerful man in Chicago was losing his mind.
"Did they follow us?"
Savannah asked,
her voice a rasp.
"No,"
Julian said,
not looking up.
"I doubled back three times,
swapped the plates,
and cut through the forest preserves."
"To them,
we vanished near the airport."
"He'll be checking the flight manifests,"
Savannah said,
her mind beginning to clear.
"He'll check the private charters,
the bus stations,
the trains."
"He'll never think we're sitting in a shack thirty miles from where we started."
"It's only a matter of time,"
Julian warned.
"He's putting out a bounty,
Savannah."
"Five million dollars for information."
"Everyone in the city is looking for you now."
"Not just his men,"
"but the police,
the gangs,
the hungry,
and the desperate."
Savannah looked at the fire,
the orange flames reflecting in her eyes.
May you like
"Then we give them something else to look at,"
she said.
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