The Pawn novel · Chapter 6 of 24

Chapter 6: Smoke

"Get down!" Pellegrino shouted.

He pushed me behind the stone wall of the boathouse as the first bullets ripped across the beach.

One of his men dropped without a sound.

The other fired back toward the pines, and a spray of snow went up where the shots landed.

I crouched against the cold stone with my arms over my head.

The shooting came from three directions at once.

Up the slope, the house was lit with muzzle flashes, and men were running across the lawn.

Then something exploded near the front gate, a deep thump I felt in my chest, and an orange glow rose behind the trees.

Fire.

"Ruvolo," Pellegrino said, almost to himself.

He did not sound surprised.

He sounded resigned.

The boathouse door stood open behind us.

I ran in.

Inside it was dark and smelled of gasoline and wet rope.

A narrow boat sat in a slip, and a back door opened to a short pier on the far side.

I got there with my hands out in front of me, found the latch, and pushed.

The night air hit me.

Smoke was already drifting down from the house, thick and sour, and the sky above the pines was red.

I stepped out onto the pier.

A man was coming down it toward me through the smoke.

He was tall, with a gun in his right hand and his left arm held stiff against his side.

His black coat was open, and a dark stain had spread through the bandage on his shoulder.

My heart stopped, and then it started again, very hard.

"Cosimo."

He stopped dead.

For a moment he only looked at me.

His face was gray with pain and soot, and his eyes ran over me quickly, from my hair to my bare, bleeding feet.

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