Page 45 of Till Death Do Us Part

“A shooting?” I asked, my heart rate accelerating.

Rei nodded.

“Are they…is anyone dead?”

“The fucking Russians. Nick was shot. Jano and Em took chase. They got into Em’s car and followed the bratva car to a storage facility. When the bratva car stopped, Jano jumped out of their car and pulled one of them from the car. Em followed. The good news is there’s two less Russians to worry about, but in the fight, Jano was stabbed.”

Aléjandro was stabbed.

My stomach twisted with the news.

I sucked in a breath. “He was stabbed. Is he in the hospital?”

Rei shook his head. “We have our own doctors. Hospitals ask too many questions and keep records.”

The famiglia did the same thing. Sometimes, the hospital was the better option, such as with my father. Although, there’s no way to know if the hospital could have saved him. More importantly, there’s the question of whether or not anyone wanted him saved.

“Did they get Aléjandro help?” ‘Did they want to save him’ was what I wanted to ask.

“They did.”

“And Nick?”

“He’s being patched up, too.”

“What about the call?” I asked.

“Jano’s phone is missing. Our men should have it turned off soon. They fucked up, not realizing it was missing sooner. Jano’s concerned that the person who found it would try to call you, and it seems he was right.”

“It was his number. Could the call have been from the bratva?”

“It depends when he lost it. The bratva or the police. Neither is good. If it was the bratva, they could triangulate the call to find your house. Jano bought it under a shell company. It’s too dangerous to have his name on the deed.” We came to a stop at a red light as Rei checked all directions. “Until Silas arrives and the new security system is set up, it’s not safe for you to be there.”

“Where will we stay?”

“Ourpadremade a request.”

Jorge made a request?

“What does that mean?”

“It means you need to talk to Jano.”

Based on the setting sun to our right, Rei was driving south. The view outside our windows changed from the palm trees, flowering bushes, and gated homes to cracked streets, concrete walls, and graffiti. Streetlights were beginning to illuminate sidewalks littered with trash and weeds coming through the cracks.

Rei pulled up to a gate. Appearing above the fence under a dusk sky, I saw multiple large buildings and a ship, its paint chipped and sails down. After entering a code, Rei drove us through the gate. I turned, watching it close behind us. Rei continued through a large garage door and into one of the buildings. Through the darkness, he drove us to the far end where there were probably ten to fifteen other vehicles of all different makes and varying ages.

“Stay by me,” he said before turning off the car.

That was an order I had no problem following.

Before my door was opened, two men rushed toward the car from the shadows.

“Lock the doors,” Rei said, jumping from his seat and slamming his door.

Hurriedly, I did as he said, frantically searching and finally finding the button. The click of the lock echoed. The car muffled the men’s voices. It didn’t matter. I couldn’t have understood them even if they were distinct. I sucked in a breath and pushed back against the seat as with a kick to his chest, Rei sent one of the men flying. Less than a second later, he had the second man pinned over the hood of his car with a long blade against his neck.

My entire body trembled as my eyes opened wide at the scene playing out before me.

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