Page 26 of Duke of Ruin

“I don’t know!” I shout.

“Bullshit.” He tries to pull is weapon, but I’m faster. I have my gun pressed to his stomach before he can even get his out of the holster.

“I told you, I need more time,” I growl.

“You just signed your death warrant,” Rossi says, but he lets go of his gun.

“Not likely. I think the family will trust me pretty easily if I bring them your corpse as a fucking trophy,” I snarl.

“You won’t kill me,” Rossi says, and relaxes his shoulders.

“I don’t want to, that’s true,” I answer.

“I can find out,” Rossi says, raising his hands in submission. “I’ll be there to intercept the shipment, and I’ll probably be able to take down some international dealers as well.”

“Do whatever you want,” I say, but I turn to the door. I open it and get out of the car, keeping my gun trained on Rossi.

“I already know it’s tonight,” he continues like I haven’t spoken. “And I’ve got a pretty good guess as to where.”

“I’m sure,” I scoff, but I believe him.

“We’re done, kid. I’m disappointed in you,” he says, then peels out of the parking lot. I stare after him for a few minutes before turning to my car. This isn’t good.

* * *

I call Eli as soon as the car door shuts behind me. He doesn’t pick up. I snap the phone shut and start my car. I have to warn him. If Rossi already had one mole in the family, I doubt he’d have trouble finding another, and he’s definitely going to target Eli after this. I have to find him, and we have to run.

I go by the fraternity house, but no one has seen Eli in days. I try his off-campus apartment, then the secret apartment, but have no luck at either of them. He must already be with his family. The shipment is happening tonight, so I know he’ll be there, but I have to find a way to get to him before then. I keep trying his phone, but now it’s going straight to voicemail. He must have turned it off. Shit…shit.

I go back to my apartment. I know this is stupid, but it’s the only plan I’ve got. I open the safe and take out my badge and ID, shoving them into my pocket. Then I head down to the bus stop to catch a ride to the docks.

I’m not sure exactly where the transaction is taking place. I’ve been very careful not to let Eli give me too many details because I was afraid of Rossi finding out, but now I wish I’d let him tell me everything. It’s starting to get dark as I wander around the shipping yard looking for anything suspicious. I notice a small cargo ship pulling into the harbor, and hope that’s the right one.

I follow its movements as it chugs through the shallow waters of the bay. It pulls up to a dock. There are no containers this time, and several men jump out and start tying it off as it lowers a ramp to connect with the dock. Keeping out of sight, I watch as they start to unload crates with hand carts, piling them together at the end of the dock.

Voices rise from the other side of the crates, and one of them belongs to Eli. I would know his smooth cadence anywhere. Even in this situation, the sound of his voice soothes me. My skin prickles as I listen to him speaking in flawless Russian. There’s still a lot I have to learn about this man. I stay hidden as I listen to their conversation. I don’t speak Russian, but things seem to be going smoothly. Rossi must have been bluffing about knowing when and where this was taking place. If this all works out, I’ll just keep out of sight until I can talk to Eli.

I notice movement from the opposite side of the docks, and my adrenaline spikes when I hear the shouts of officers telling them to freeze. Gunshots ring out and I launch myself out of my hiding place. My heart shudders to a stop when I see Eli take a hit and fall to the ground. I bolt across the dock, bullets screaming around me, and fall to my knees next to him. Relief washes through me as soon as I notice that he’s still breathing, but it’s shallow. I check him over. He has a wound on his shoulder, but it looks like the bullet went through.

Sirens start wailing in the distance as the gunfire slows. I grab Eli and he finally regains consciousness. At least three men are on their knees with officers’ gun trained on them, and several more are trying to run.

“Noah, what are you doing here?” he gasps, then groans and grabs his shoulder.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got you,” I say as I lift him to his feet. He leans on me heavily as we walk away from the fray. One officer shouts at me to freeze, but I flash my badge at them and they wave me through. Eli seems to be too disoriented to notice as we keep walking. I just pray no one recognizes me. I have no idea what Rossi has told the rest of the department about me.

We keep moving, and I take Eli back to his car. I get him settled into the passenger seat, but he’s fading in and out of consciousness. I have to take a minute to orient myself in the driver’s seat. This car is ridiculous, but I somehow manage to get us to the hospital and carry a semi-conscious Eli inside. By this point we’re both covered in blood and everything is a blur as the doctors and nurses rush him into the trauma center.

* * *

The next thing I know, I’m sitting in a waiting room with a pile of paperwork I have no idea how to fill out. It’s probably not the best idea, but I use my undercover alias on all the documents, and when they mention that they need to let law enforcement know about the GSW I flash my badge again. Thankfully, they back off as they take Eli into surgery.

Sometime later—it was probably only a few hours, but it felt like a week—the doctors come to let me know Eli is out of surgery. They take me into the recovery room where he’s still sleeping. They try to give me the details of the surgery, but everything after “he will make a full recovery” gets lost somewhere in translation. They ask me if I need help with security, but I tell them that this is a high-profile case and we need to keep it quiet, but there’s no danger. Thankfully, they believe me. I guess having a badge gives someone instant credibility. I scoff at the thought. If Rossi knew where we were, neither of us would be safe.

I sit in the chair next to Eli’s bed and rest my head next to his arm. I take his hand and hold it without any idea what my next move should be. I don’t even know how we’re going to get out of this damn hospital. Eli shifts next to me, and I lift my head. He blinks sluggishly a few times before focusing on me.

“Noah, what happened? Where am I?” Eli croaks. My heart twists.

“We’re in the hospital, Eli,” I say as I put my hand on his cheek, appearances be damned. His eyes start shooting around the room.

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