Page 77 of Final Installment
“We’re not killing him, Luka.”I stood my ground, daring him to make a move.
He leered down at me, his face awash with the harsh light from the bathroom.Finally, he said, “We’re tying him up and gagging him.”
“Fine.”I didn’t see any reason not to, all things considered.
“Get dressed.We have to get out of here.”
“Now?”
“Yes, now,” he shot back in frustration.“For all we know, there are more people coming to finish the job.”
“What about the police?”I asked feebly.“Can they be trusted?”
Luka snorted derisively.“No one can be trusted.Not anymore.”He glanced back at me as he yanked the laces out of the boots the attacker wore.“The only person who knows we’re here is Zec.”
I gulped at the realization that someone close to Luka had betrayed him.“You’re sure no one else knows?”
“We’ve been with each other since leaving the wedding rehearsal.”He started to loop the laces around the attacker’s wrists.“I know you haven’t contacted anyone.”
“What about the lady at the front desk downstairs?”I had a nearly desperate need to prove that Luka hadn’t been betrayed by those closest to him.“Or someone at the strip mall where we stopped to get clothes and the phones?Or someone who saw us on the street?”
“What do you think is more likely, Elona?”He shook his head and pulled the belt from the attacker’s waist.“That some random person we crossed paths with tonight just happened to know we were on the run or that the one person I called and trusted with our location did?”
The pain in his voice left me wincing.He'd been betrayed by someone he had known his entire life.That was a wound that went deep and would never heal.
I noticed the man on the floor moving, and all thoughts of who betrayed us or why fled.“He’s waking up.Hurry.Gag him before he yells.”
Luka didn’t have to be told twice.He snatched the balaclava off the man’s head, folded and looped it through the man’s mouth, forcing his tongue down and shutting off any chance he might make noise.He pushed the man’s face side to side as if trying to identify him.“He’s one of the Raffaellicapos.He plays in a high-stakes poker game with Zec.”
Another mark against Zec.
I crouched beside Luka for a better look at our attacker.The shaft of bathroom light showed his features clearly including a large red birthmark around his eye and down his cheek.“I think this man was in Houston with my mother.”
Luka turned an accusing glare on me.
“I don’t know him!”I scowled indignantly.“My mother’s housekeeper told me a man with a birthmark on his face came to the house.He harassed my mom.Mariana didn’t know why or what he wanted.”
“Your mother.The Raffaellis.Zec.”Luka listed off all the people who were probably involved in this awful betrayal.“Maybe your mother was working with them to get rid of your grandfather.”
“My mother’s a lot of things, but she’s not the type to murder her own kids.She wouldn’t have agreed to a bomb at a wedding where we were all present.”
“Really?”Luka asked daringly.“The woman who beat your head until you bled yesterday isn’t the type to murder her kids?”
I gulped at the ugly truth of it.Eventually, I conceded, “She might be, but not when it comes to Skender.He’s her golden child.”
“Maybe he’s in on it, too.”
I didn’t want to think that.I didn’t want to believe that my own family was plotting to kill me.“Luka, we don’t have time for this.We need to get out of here before someone else comes to finish the job.”
Luka nodded stiffly.He stood and rushed to the chair where he’d left his clothes.When I didn’t immediately jump up to join him, he asked, “What are you doing?”
“Checking his pockets.Maybe he has something useful or some money.”I found a phone that I tossed aside, a key fob and some cash.I ran my hands down his hips and legs, frisking him like a cop.I discovered a wickedly sharp knife and a Makarov pistol.
“Here.”I handed Luka the knife, the cash and the key fob.
“The gun?”He held out his hand expectantly.
“Not a chance.”I held it firmly and out of his reach.“I don’t know how well you can shoot, but I do know that I’m good with a gun.I’m not taking any chances.”
