Chapter 9 - THE SACRIFICE AT BALTIMORE HARBORThe rain had turned into a torrential downpour by the time we reached the Baltimore harbor at 5:30 AM.
The sky was a dark, bruised purple, the water churning violently against the wooden pilings of Pier 42. A forty-foot black motor yacht sat idling in the water, its twin diesel engines humming smoothly against the storm.
Damian was pale, leaning heavily on Marco’s shoulder as they bandaged his shoulder with emergency medical gauze inside the pier’s covered boathouse.
I stood beside him, holding Lila, who was wrapped in a dry wool blanket Marco had brought from the SUV.
“The boat will take you to a private airfield in Delaware,” Damian said, his voice raspy and weak from blood loss, looking up at me. “From there, a jet will fly you and Lila to a private estate in Switzerland. The Syndicate can't touch you there.”
I looked at him, my heart aching. “What about you?”
Damian forced a weak smile, leaning back against the wooden wall. “I have to stay. The Syndicate Council needs to know that Baltimore still belongs to Damian Volkov. If I leave, they will hunt us to the ends of the earth.”
“You’re hurt!” I cried out, tears spilling down my face, no longer able to hide how much I cared about this dangerous, terrifying man who had protected my daughter with his life. “You can't fight an army by yourself!”
“I’m not by myself,” Damian said, gesturing toward Marco and the twelve armed men standing guard around the perimeter of the pier. “I have my family.”
He reached out his hand, his long fingers gently touching Lila’s cheek.
Lila reached up, took his hand, and pressed her small palm against his wrist—feeling the steady, strong rhythm of his heartbeat through his pulse.
She looked up at him and signed softly: [Strong heart now. No more poison.]
A genuine tear slipped down Damian’s scarred cheek. He leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss to Lila’s forehead.
“Thank you, little girl,” he whispered. “You saved my soul.”
He looked up at me, taking my hand in his, pressing a small silver key into my palm.
“This key opens a safe deposit box at Zurich Commercial Bank,” Damian said, his gray eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that burned into my memory. “It contains enough wealth to give Lila the best life, the best doctors, and the best education in the world.”
“Damian, I don't want the money,” I sobbed. “I want you to come with us.”
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“If I come with you, Mara,” Damian said softly, wiping my tears with his thumb, “the danger follows. Let me finish this war so you can live in the light.”
He stepped back, turning to Marco. “Get them on the boat.”
