Page 66 of Long Live the King
I’m not sure what to feel, or what to think. My brain is filled with scattered thoughts that make no sense apart or together, and it isn’t until I feel the warmth of Dominic’s embrace that I realize where I am and what just happened. I just shot Giovanni. I killed him.
I killed a man.
“You had to do it,” Dominic says softly in my ear, as if he can read my thoughts. “He left us no choice, and that’s all there is to it. It was self-defense. You hear me? Fuck him. You had to.”
I hear him, but I can barely register the words. I know what he’s saying is true, but I also know it won’t keep the nightmares of this night from haunting me for the rest of my life. I had to kill him, but that doesn’t mean I’m okay with it, or that I ever will be.
As tears start to sting my eyes, Dominic wraps an arm around me and forces me to start walking to the end of the alley.
“We gotta go, Alannah. We can’t stay here another second,” he says as we walk. “We’re not taking a cab either. I don’t trust anybody anymore. We’re gonna stay in the darkness of the alleys until we get to River City, then all of this is over. Let’s go.”
Our pursuers are dead, but we know if anybody else from the Family sees us, it’ll just be another fight for our lives. So, Dominic makes the right move by staying hidden and off the streets, but the walk to River City feels like it takes us all night, although it’s only a couple of blocks. My emotions are all right at the surface, ready to break through the dam, but I have to stay strong. It’s not over yet, and as long as we’re in this city, we’re not safe and there’s no room for mistakes.
Neither of us speak while we walk in the alleys. We had a plan when we left King’s Court Motel, and three people dying was not a part of it. Both of us are emotionally drained, and Dominic is physically exhausted from fighting and the wounds in his body that haven’t had a chance to even begin healing yet. I’m so tired of this craziness that I could just close my eyes and lay down right in the middle of the alley. I want it to be over so badly I can feel it in every step I take, and every breath I breathe. All I can do is hope that the stress from all of this hasn’t hurt the baby. I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if it had. It might be too much for me to handle.
“We’re here,” I hear Dominic announce, interrupting my thoughts. I should thank him for speaking, because I wasn’t thinking anything good.
At the end of the alley in front of us, right next to the main road leading to the casino and directly next to the wall of River City, is the Mercedes Dominic bought me only a few weeks ago, when we thought our lives were perfect. It’s there, just like Frankie said it would be. I feel a sense of relief wash over me as we take our first steps towards it, knowing that the car being there means Frankie held up his end of the bargain when he said he’d come to River City and put our stuff in the car before we arrived. I didn’t want to trust him, but the car waiting for us is the evidence. He did what he said he would, now all we have to do is get in.
We approach the Mercedes from the rear, and by the time we reach the trunk, Dominic’s limp is so obvious I’m surprised he can still stand. Blood has soaked through his bandages and is obvious on both his shoulder and leg when he leans against the car, making sure we weren’t followed.
“You alright?” I ask, although I know he’s not.
“Better now,” he says with a playful grin as sweat rolls down his face. He looks nervous, and that makes me nervous. I don’t want to stand out here for another second.
“Let’s put this place in our rearview mirror,” I say to Dominic, who nods his head.
“Fucking right,” he replies. “Couldn’t have said it better myself.”
We smile at each other, and I feel a glimmer of hope for the first time in too long. But that hope fades when Dominic’s smile does. He sees something behind me, and his eyes have locked onto it. We’re so close to being free that I’m almost scared to turn around. I don’t want to see whatever the oncoming threat is—the threat that’s about to ruin our plans.
I force myself to turn around, and it only takes a second for me to see what Dominic is staring at. There, at the end of the street connected to the alley, is an Escalade parked next to the curb. It’s facing our direction with a perfect view of us. I’ve seen this Escalade too many times since I arrived in St. Louis, so there’s no mistaking whose it is.
Frankie.
“What’s he doing here?” I ask Dominic in a whisper, as if Frankie can hear if I say it too loudly.
“I don’t know, but we don’t have time to sit here and try to figure it out,” Dominic replies. I feel his hand on my shoulder as he forces me to turn around and look at him. “We’ve come too far to turn back now. Let’s go.”
I look in Dominic’s eyes and I can feel the desperation emanating off of him. He wants this to be over just as badly as I do. He wants to be safe just like me, and we can’t bring it all to an end fast enough. So, I trust him, just like he asked me to, and I nod my head. I’m ready.
Dominic opens the door to the Mercedes and slowly lowers himself in. He struggles a bit as the pain from the wound slows him down, but after I help him, I climb in right after.
Before I close the door, I glance back at Frankie’s truck one more time, and I feel something in my stomach that almost makes me get out of the car. I almost turn back, but I fight past it, forcing myself to turn around and close the door behind me.
Thirty seconds after I close the door, instead of driving away from River City towards a life of safety and freedom, the Mercedes Dominic bought me the night I moved in with him explodes into a giant fireball.
