Page 17 of Savage Obsession

Baz is on his feet now, hunting round the kitchen for something. He searches the cupboards and selects a jar from under the sink. This is going to be bad. I know it. I know him. I should say something, I should intervene, somehow.

But I don’t. I let it play out, let Baz do his worst.

My little girl. My poor baby…

I grab at the doorjamb to remain upright and bite back the urge to gag when he tips the corrosive liquid over Gerek’s head. He takes his time about it, holding him by the hair until the jug is empty and the screams echo off the rafters. I should feel… something. Do something.

But I simply watch.

And something inside me snaps. It’s not enough.

Baz’s jacket is hanging over the back of a chair. I reach for it, fumble through the inside pockets, and find the gun I know he always has in there. Only then do I step forward.

“Julia?” Baz glances up, alerted by the movement. “What are you doing?”

“Help me! Help me, I need an ambulance. A doctor.” The frantic shrieks escalate as soon as Gerek realises there’s someone else here. “This mad bastard burned me, I’m blinded. Call the police.” He rolls from side to side, wrestling with the chair he’s still tied to, desperate to escape the continuing agony.

I observe, dispassionate. My hand moves of its own accord to raise the gun, level it at him. “My baby. You hurt my baby.”

“Help me. Please, you have to?—”

The gun goes off. It must have been me, shooting, I know that, but somehow it seems… different. Someone else. As though I’m watching from a distance.

Then, silence. Blessed, beautiful silence. No more screeching from Gerek. The air still vibrates, heavy and thick from the gunshot. I lower my hand and drop the gun onto the floor with a clatter.

Baz moves fast. He grabs the gun and pockets it, then throws his jacket around me and eases me into the chair he just vacated. I’m panting, struggling to get my breath.

Is he dead? I killed him. I killed Gerek.

“It’s okay. I’ll deal with this. Don’t move from there and don’t touch anything.”

He reaches past me to close the door which I left ajar, then crouches to check the body. Blood pools from Gerek’s chest, spreading across the floor. Baz gives a curt nod then kneels in front of me. “He won’t hurt anyone else. Are you okay?”

I shake my head. “I killed him.” I repeat.

He gives a wry chuckle. “Certainly looks like it, but he was probably a goner anyway.”

“I killed him. What…? What will happen to me?” I’ll go to jail, and what will happen to Lily then?

“Nothing if I can help it. He’s not worth it.” Baz straightens, digs out his phone, and hits a several keys. “Hey, Andrzej. Baz Bartosz.” There’s a pause, then, “Yes, too long. Yes, he’s good. Look, I need a favour. A cleanup.” He rattles off the address of the apartment. “There’s a body, some blood, and I need the area thoroughly swept for any prints or DNA traces. Two people, apart from the corpse. Usual terms.” He eyes the body with distaste. “I just need him disappeared. Okay, will do.”

He ends the call, then crouches before me again. “We’re going now. Did anyone see you come up here?”

I shake my head. “No, I mean, yes. The doorman.”

He grimaces. “Pity. I’ll deal with him. How did you get in here?”

“I have a key. A fob…”

“Give it to me.” He holds out his hand.

I pass it to him, and he wipes it thoroughly on a tea towel before shoving it into Gerek’s pocket. “We need there to be no trace of you ever being here, and nothing of his at your house. No link between you and him. I’ll get Andrzej to send a team round there, too.”

I’m in a daze. “But I don’t understand. Shouldn’t we call someone? The police…?”

“No police. This didn’t happen.”

“We can’t?—”

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