Page 20 of Tide of Treason
“I’ve gotta go,” I told him. “But this has been fun. We should do it more often,papai.”
“We’re not done talking.”
“You’re right. But I am. I’ll give you a call once I’ve picked out my wedding tux. Maybe you’ll appreciate the gesture. Unlike my fiancé, who, let’s face it, probably won’t. Lesbians aren’t exactly known for their taste in suits.”
I hung up.
Sergius called back three times immediately after.
After the first one went to voicemail, and the second, the third was ignored.
Finally he gave up. What I didn’t realise then was how fast it would unravel. Abel wasn’t even in the ground yet, and the fallout from my choice was already making itself known.
Five minutes. That was all it took for my world to collapse. Thepopof a gunshot rang out, sharp and solitary,slicing through the night. The draft of it brushed my face, leaving the ghost of death in its wake, followed by deafening silence. Abel toppled with a heavy thud.
Chaos erupted. A storm of Portuguese curses and boots crunching gravel.“Merda! Ele está sangrando!”Shadows swarmed, but all I saw was the crimson seeping through his shirt, dark as regret. I shouldered through the bodies, my boots grinding against the dirt, and collapsed to my knees beside him.
My hands pressed hard against the wound, useless against the tide.
Fatal.
“Fuck,” I choked. “No, no, no, no—”
He caught my hand, still warm. Blood trickled down the coarse line of his jaw. Never realised how much he was a friend—no, a brother—until that moment. Until I felt the stinging in my eyes and the hot, angry burn building at the back of my throat.
“Do me a favour?” he rasped.
I nodded, blinking back the burn in my eyes. “Yeah, man. Yeah, sure. Whatever you need.”
Abel watched the hazy stars for a long while. Eyes slipped shut. When they opened again, they returned to me. There was a resignation there, calm in the face of the inevitable. “Promise me you’ll watch over Marisol. Make sure my baby gets taken care of. Please, brother. Make sure s-she’s . . . okay.”
Guilt ripped through me. My gaze snagged onto his gold wedding ring, slick and crimson. I gently eased the band off hisfinger. It felt heavy in my hand. Heavier still when I shoved it in my pocket, a silent oath carved into my bones.
“Swear. Swear you’ll keep . . . my family . . . safe.”
My voice barely worked, but I forced it through the stranglehold in my throat. “I promise.”
His mouth tilted into a weak smile, blood smeared across his teeth. “Good . . . ‘cause you’re all she’s got now,pannekoek.”
A sharp exhale. A cough. More blood stained his lips, dark and thick against my palm as I held it tight against the hole in his chest. The hand in mine went slack, his head lolling as his eyes dimmed, the green bleeding into lifeless grey. I leaned low, bringing my forehead down to press against his.
“Fodeu,” I muttered. “What the fuck am I supposed to do now? You were the one who held it all together. I’m not—” My breath broke. “I’m not ready for this—”
“Liar.”
It was barely a whisper, broken and wet, but it was the last thing he ever said. One final knife to twist in my chest before his breath stilled completely. Limbs slack, mouth gone soft, peace smoothing out a face that hadn’t seen nearly enough years to deserve it.
“Andrade.”
The sound barely registered, muffled beneath the thunder roaring in my head. So much blood. Everywhere.
“Lucius . . .”
A hand seized my shoulder and forcibly turned me around with a roughness that scraped my bones raw. Rafaelwas crouched down in front of me, his hand gripping my jaw.
“Look at me.”
I did.
