Chapter 15 - THE ESCAPE FROM THE GOLDEN CAGE AND THE BIRTH OF THE UNKNOWN
I met Emma at the entrance to the garage,
her face pale and her hand bandaged with a piece of her own uniform.
Luke stood beside her,
his rifle slung over his shoulder,
his expression one of grim respect.
"The car is ready,
Boss,"
he said,
pointing to a nondescript black SUV that didn't have armor or bulletproof glass.
"Where are we going?"
"Somewhere the king doesn't exist,"
I said,
looking at Emma.
She walked over to me,
her eyes searching mine,
and then she did something she had never done before.
She leaned down and kissed me,
a soft,
desperate movement that tasted of salt and smoke.
"You came for me,"
she whispered.
"I told you,"
I said,
taking her hand.
"I don't like it when people stop working."
We got into the car,
Emma in the driver's seat and me in the back,
the chair folded into the trunk.
As we drove through the gates of the estate,
I looked back at the massive stone structure that had been my fortress and my prison.
It looked different in the moonlight,
less like a monument to power and more like a tomb that had finally been opened.
We drove through the city,
past the docks,
past the boardrooms,
and toward the suburbs where Emma’s mother was waiting.
The sun began to rise over Lake Michigan,
a brilliant,
unfolding fire that promised a new day,
a day without ledgers,
without hits,
and without the fear of the shadows.
I knew the world wouldn't let me go easily.
I knew there would be men who would come for me,
men who would want to reclaim the crown I had thrown away.
But as I looked at the back of Emma’s head,
the way her hair caught the light of the dawn,
I knew I was ready for them.
I wasn't the Monarch of Chicago anymore.
I was just a man who had found something worth standing up for,
even if I had to do it from a chair.
The road ahead was long,
and the shadows were still deep,
May you like
but for the first time in two years,
I wasn't afraid of the dark.
