Chapter 4 - Why Roman Never Chased Her
Nora had spent three years believing Roman never found her because she had been clever.
She learned the truth in the car.
“I knew where you were after eleven months,” Roman said.
Nora turned sharply.
“What?”
Snow streaked across the armored sedan windows.
Roman stared forward.
“Chicago first. Then Boston. Then back to New York.”
Her anger rose instantly.
“You followed me?”
“No.”
“You just said—”
“I found you.”
He looked at her.
“And chose not to approach you.”
Nora stared.
“Why?”
Roman’s answer was simple.
“You looked happy.”
She almost laughed.
“I was working sixty hours a week.”
“You were free.”
Silence.
Roman continued.
“You bought coffee every Sunday from the same corner shop. You walked through the park afterward. Sometimes you sat on a bench and read.”
“You watched me?”
“Once.”
“One time?”
“One afternoon.”
“And then?”
“I told Tommy to erase the address from our files.”
Nora looked toward Tommy in the front passenger seat.
Tommy nodded.
“He did.”
“Why?”
Roman looked out the window.
“Because the first time I saw you without me, you weren’t looking over your shoulder.”
Nora’s anger lost its direction.
“You could have told me about Michael.”
“I didn’t have proof yet.”
“You had his recording.”
“And I knew that if I contacted you, Elias would know I had found you.”
Nora remembered the photograph.
The phone call.
“So you stayed away.”
“Yes.”
She looked at him.
“Was that supposed to be noble?”
“No.”
His answer came immediately.
“It was the minimum you deserved.”
The car stopped near Lombardi’s.
Federal agents were already positioned several blocks away.
Roman had insisted on authorities.
That alone showed Nora how much had changed.
Victor expected the old Roman.
The man who solved betrayal privately.
Roman intended to disappoint him.
Inside Lombardi’s, Victor sat comfortably in the corner booth.
Elias stood beside him.
Arthur had been released.
No customers remained.
Nora entered beside Roman.
Victor smiled.
“There she is.”
Nora looked at Elias.
Three years ago Elias had given her a passport, money, and instructions.
He had hugged her before she left.
“I trusted you.”
Elias shrugged.
“That was useful.”
Roman’s hands remained at his sides.
Victor laughed.
“You’ve become disappointingly civilized, Roman.”
“People change.”
“People pretend.”
Victor looked at Nora.
“Did he tell you what he was?”
“He didn’t have to.”
“And you came back anyway.”
“I came for Michael.”
Victor’s smile faded.
Nora placed the flash drive on the table.
“You killed him because he found your accounts.”
Elias laughed softly.
“You think that little drive saves you?”
“No.”
Nora took out her phone.
“This does.”
Victor frowned.
“Everything Michael collected was copied twenty minutes ago.”
Roman looked at her.
That part had not been in the plan.
Nora continued.
“To three attorneys, a federal investigator, and a journalist.”
Elias’s face changed.
“You’re bluffing.”
Nora smiled for the first time that night.
“You should remember something about me, Elias.”
“What?”
“You taught me how to disappear.”
She looked directly into his eyes.
“So you should know how careful I am.”
Sirens became audible outside.
Victor stood.
Roman did not move.
“You brought police into my restaurant?” Victor demanded.
“It isn’t your restaurant,” Arthur called from the kitchen.
Victor turned.
Arthur emerged.
Behind him came federal agents.
The confrontation ended without violence.
Elias looked at Roman as agents approached.
“You’re letting them arrest me?”
Roman’s expression remained calm.
“Yes.”
“You’ve gotten weak.”
Roman looked at Nora.
“No.”
Then back at Elias.
“I finally learned the difference between power and fear.”
Elias and Victor were taken away.
Nora stood among the broken remnants of the night that had begun hours earlier.
Roman approached.
“It’s over.”
“No.”
He stopped.
She looked at him.
“Michael is still dead.”
Roman lowered his eyes.
“My brother lost his life because of your world.”
“Yes.”
“And you’re still responsible for the things you actually did.”
“Yes.”
“You don’t get redemption because you made one good decision.”
“I know.”
Nora studied him.
“Then why are you looking at me like that?”
Roman’s voice softened.
“Because you’re alive.”
Her chest tightened.
“That’s enough for tonight.”
And for once, Roman did not ask for more.
May you like
But the following morning, Nora learned exactly how much his decision at Lombardi’s had cost him.
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