Page 50 of Count Down

In the morning,I cook Gina breakfast and bring it to her in bed. I open the blinds on the windows and bring the tray to her. She slowly stirs, a bit sleepier than usual.

I know she didn’t sleep well last night. Not like she usually does. She’s upset with her parents. What Nicoletti did to her was cold. He cut her off because he’s too fucking proud to see Gina for who she is. He’d rather she lives the way he wants or pretend she doesn’t exist. His fucking loss.

Still, it pisses me off. I imagine what it would be like to take my anger out on Nicoletti. To make him pay for all the ways he’s upset Gina. But I have to stay focused. There are more important things to take care of. For now, at least.

Gina sits up and rubs the sleep from her eyes. She’s not as bright as she usually is in the morning, but she takes a sip of orange juice and slowly starts to eat. That’s a good sign.

I don’t want to jump right into plans and strategy with her. But it’s been on my mind all night. And time is getting short. This will all work out best if I keep her informed. Or at least, as informed as she needs to be. The next few days will be about eliminating as many risks as possible.

“I’m going to get the Russians off your back,” I say, looking out at the rooftop and the pool. I can sense that Gina stopped eating, but she’s listening. “But I can’t do it until tomorrow. I think we should stay as close together as possible until then.” I turn and look at her. Her eyes are watching me. “Do you mind if I go with you to your rehearsals at the theater? If we stick together for the next few days? I don’t want to let you out of my sight.”

A small smile forms on Gina’s face. I’m relieved to see it. I can’t stand seeing her upset. It’s a relief to see her smile again. “I don’t mind,” she says quietly.

“I have an idea for your father too.” When I say this, Gina’s smile fades away. It pains me to bring it up with her, but I can’t ignore it. “I’ll send him a message. A warning. Hopefully something he’ll take more seriously.”

Gina looks down to her breakfast, but she nods slowly. I lean over and kiss her on the top of her head. After some time, she begins eating her breakfast again. I think I’ve told her enough.

What a fucking mess we’re in. I do have a plan to stop the Russians coming after her. That’s my top priority. Unfortunately, that plan will probably put Nicoletti in even more danger than he’s currently in.

I don’t tell Gina that I’m still supposed to kill her father. My original plan was to kill him tomorrow night. At the theater. At her performance.

I have very few options other than to go through with it and kill him. And they’re all fucking terrible. Catastrophic options. Options where I know I’ll end up destroying far more than I ever thought I’d have to.

The only alternative I really have, the only alternative I’ll even consider, is really fucking bad for me and everyone close to me. But it will protect Gina. That’s the decision. Destroy the world I’ve known my whole life? Or destroy the world I’ve found over the past couple of months?

“Try not to worry about anything,” I say to Gina. “I want you to just focus on your performance. That’s all you should worry about.”

“I’ll try,” she says. It makes me smile just the slightest. Through all this shit, if I can do what’s best for her, maybe she’ll be happy.

“I’ve got some work to do in my shop. Do you mind hanging out until I’m done? Then we can go to the theater later.”

“As long as we can stop by my place before we go, I’m good.”

“You sure you don’t mind waiting around?”

“No,” she shakes her head. She’s looking more lively now that she’s fully awake and had some breakfast. “I’ll probably just lay by the pool.”

I give her another kiss and then head downstairs to my shop.

There are so many pieces that need to come together. I’ve always tried to keep things from getting too complicated, but this situation isn’t simple. I keep running through the options in my head.

Killing Nicoletti is the simplest option. I’d have done my job. It would honor the deal we made with the Irish. And the Russians would be off Gina’s back since she’d no longer be related to the District Attorney.

But I’d wreck Gina’s life. Granted it’s a part of her life that has treated her like shit. But he’s still her father. The last thing in the world I want to do is cause her any pain.

If I don’t kill Nicoletti, I’ve got a long list of issues to deal with. The Russians will keep going after Gina, so I have to stop them. I’ll be fucked, going against Mateo’s orders. That can’t end well for me. The Barones will be fucked because they’ll have gone back on their deal with the Irish. Even if I somehow solve all those problems, there’s no guarantee someone else won’t kill Gina’s father. I need to at least try to get him to take this threat seriously.

In the ideal solution, I’d get Nicoletti to step down as DA. Then I could stay in the Barones and Gina and I could find a way to be together. But I can’t count on that.

So, in case that doesn’t work, I’ve thought of another plan to take out the Russians and eliminate the issue with the Irish. It’s essentially a suicide mission. I have to go scorched earth. I may die in the process.

I hope not, but I’d be foolish if I thought that wasn’t a very possible outcome. Every plan I’ve come up with, they’ve all been suicide missions for me. I’m backed into a corner. The only thing that makes this plan better than all the rest, the one and only thing, is that it causes the least harm to Gina.

The whole plan needs to happen nearly simultaneously. Once I set off the first part, the rest will get even riskier. The closer together they happen, the better.

When I get to my shop, I call up Ethan Pace again. It’s Friday, he should still be at the DA’s office. I need him to do something before everyone’s out for the weekend.

“What’s up?” Ethan answers the phone.

---