Page 78 of Final Installment
“I can shoot!”he insisted but didn’t try to take it from me.“Keep it hidden,” he warned.“You haven’t lived here in a long time.It’s not like Texas.People don’t walk around with guns on their hips.”
“Noted.”I quickly grabbed the black leggings and T-shirt from the shopping bag.Luka hadn’t been able to find a bra for me, and I wasn’t about to squeeze back into the shapewear I’d had on earlier.I stepped into the slip-on canvas loafers and tested the fit.They weren’t the most comfortable pair of shoes I’d ever worn, but they would do.
The toe of my shoe kicked something as I turned to ask Luka if he was ready to go.It felt heavy, and I bent down to look for it.I found it under the covers that had been kicked off the bed during Luka’s struggle with our assailant.
“What’s that?”Luka finished dressing.“Did he drop something?”
“He must have.It’s not ours.”I gave the cardboard box a little shake.We both heard the sound of metal on metal, and I froze.“That sounds ominous.”
“Be careful,” he urged, rushing to my side.
Cautiously, as if a snake was about to jump out and bite me, I opened the box and peeled away the tissue paper to reveal a tidy pile of rifle cartridges.My terrified gaze snapped to Luka’s.Neither of us spoke as the reality settled heavily on our shoulders.
I turned my attention back to the box and its contents.The cartridges were easily identifiable, and I listed off the rifles that were chambered for the rounds.“These are long-range sniper rifle cartridges.300 Norma.Sako.Mjolnir.MK22.”
“You know your ammunition.”Luka sounded both surprised and impressed.
“Like you said,” I reminded him.“I’m from Texas.Brett always took me hunting with him when I was younger.We had some of our best times in a hunting blind.”
“Away from your mother?”he guessed dryly.
“Yes.”I reached in and pulled out one of the cartridges.I moved further into the bathroom light and spun the cartridge in my fingers.I discovered a name neatly engraved in the metal.ANA DUSHKU.“They’re labeled.”
He took it from me and checked for himself.“Your mother?”
One by one, I picked each cartridge from the box and read the names before handing them to him.“My brother.My sister.Rina.Drita.Kristofor.Zec.Besian.Marley.Arben.Aston.”
“I suppose he intended to leave these with our dead bodies as a message to our families.”
I stared at the gleaming metal ammunition, their sharp points chilling me right to the bone.“Do you still think Zec was involved?Or my mom?Their names are on the cartridges.”
“It could be a feint so they aren’t suspected.”Luka held the cartridge engraved with Zec’s name between his fingers and grimaced.“He was in charge of security at the wedding.He would have been able to sneak a bomb into the venue.”
“But working with the Raffaelli family?After all this time?Why wouldn’t he have just killed you when you were younger and more vulnerable?”
Luka eyed the cartridge.“I’ve never been more vulnerable than I am right now.”
Taken aback by his candor, I asked, “That bad?”
“I’ve fucked up so much,” he confessed on a ragged breath.“Maybe they’re finally sick of my shit.”
He flinched when I lifted my hand close to his face.I held still, letting him see that I wasn’t going to attack him in such a wounded, raw moment.
When he relaxed, I placed my palm against his bearded cheek in a comforting, soothing way.As much as I wanted to hate him for all he’d done to ruin my family, I could see now that we were both victims.“So, Luka, what are we going to do?”
He reacted with shock.“We?”
“They tried to kill both of us.Twice,” I added.
“Yes, they did.”
“That makes us a team, I guess.”
“Does it?”
I let my hand fall from his face and grasped his hand.With a sober nod, I said, “For better or worse, we’re in this together now.”
“Then maybe you should be the one who decides what we’re going to do.I’ve done nothing but fuck things up.”
