The ties that bind

Chapter 37 - Nowhere Left to Run

Sofia's expression softened. "It's not about running. It's about staying alive."

Marco exhaled sharply, rubbing a hand down his face.

He wasn't just angry.

He was scared.

And he didn't know how to say it.

As everyone loaded their things onto the boats, Serena lingered at the doorway.

She looked back one last time.

The small cottage stood in the moonlight, silent and still.

It had been a place of safety. A temporary illusion of peace.

And now?

Now, it was just another place she had to leave behind.

She exhaled sharply, then stepped forward.

She didn't look back.

She never did.

The air was thick with salt and silence.

The waves lapped gently against the wooden dock, the boats rocking in place, but something about the stillness felt... wrong.

Serena stood near the edge of the pier, gripping the strap of her bag, her eyes scanning the dark horizon. The moon cast a silver glow over the water, stretching endlessly into the night. Too quiet. Too still.

It wasn't right.

She had learned to trust her instincts, and right now?

Her instincts were screaming.

"Move faster," Lorenzo ordered as he threw a duffel bag into one of the boats.

Vincenzo and Matteo were double-checking weapons, making sure everything was in place. Marco was pacing, jaw clenched, still frustrated about leaving.

Sofia, Alessandro, and Raffaele were the only ones not complaining, but even they looked uneasy.

Serena's grip on her bag tightened.

Something was off.

And then—

"Hey." Vincenzo's voice was low, sharp. "Do you see that?"

Everyone froze.

Vincenzo's hand was already on his gun as he nodded toward the open sea.

Serena followed his gaze.

And then she saw it.

A boat.

Far off in the distance.

Drifting. Engine off. No movement.

Just... there.

Watching.

Her stomach tightened.

"How long has it been there?" Matteo asked, his voice quiet.

"A while," Vincenzo muttered. "Didn't move when we did."

Lorenzo narrowed his eyes. "Can you see how many people?"

Vincenzo shook his head. "Too far. Could be one, could be ten. Could be nothing at all."

But it wasn't nothing.

Serena could feel it.

She exhaled slowly, trying to ignore the way her pulse hammered in her ears.

"What do we do?" Alessandro asked.

Marco's grip on his gun tightened. "We should take them out. If they know we're here, we end it now."