Christoph Junior’s back, suit jacket pulled tight across his shoulders, was the first thing I saw. I looked closer, mind trying to reject what my eyes showed. Lily under him, hands still on his wrists but her body limp.
“Christoph!”
He turned, looked at me, but kept his hands around her throat.
“I’m almost done—”
He didn’t have a chance to finish. I was on him before I had processed the thought, one hand jammed under his throat, the other on his elbow, pulling him with all my might. When Lily’s head bounced against the ground, I turned, giving Christoph Junior his chance.
He took it.
He pummeled me with all of his strength, pounding at the back of my head, kicking my ribs, doing everything he could think of to disable me.
I deflected the blows as best I could, but my main concern, my only concern, was Lily. We were far too close to her and it would be far too easy for one of Christoph Junior’s wild swings to hit her and not me. So I kept my body between them, protecting her as best I could.
Both Christoph Junior and I carried weapons, but I wouldn’t risk drawing the attention, and that he hadn’t pulled his own told me he felt the same. So we scuffled, me hunched in front of Lily, him coming at me with everything he had.
One particularly brutal kick to the face stunned me, and for a moment, I wondered if my jaw had been broken. I didn’t have long to worry over it, though, because Christoph Junior was back again. His stamina was no doubt owing to his increasingly hungry habit, the same habit that probably kept him from feeling the pain that I was attempting to dish out. I hit him hard, hard enough to stop him in his tracks, but he kept coming.
He lifted his leg again, and I saw my opportunity. As he struck out, about to attack, I shifted left and went for his opposite leg, aiming at his knee. When my shoulder contacted the joint, a loud, sickening pop filled Lily’s apartment, and Christoph Junior’s leg crumpled beneath him, twisting at an unnatural angle.
That pain got to him, and he fell, screaming at first until those screams diminished and became low, animal wails.
“Anton! What the fuck? You broke my fucking leg!”
As he rolled on Lily’s floor, he screamed at me, but I paid him no attention, and instead turned to her. I leaned over her, was relieved when I saw her chest rise and fall, but was angered beyond belief when I saw the fresh bruises on her neck, her skin dark, mottled, Christoph Junior’s fingerprints visible.
She moaned, tried to open swollen eyes, but I held her in place. “Be still. I’ll get you to the doctor.”
“Anton,” Christoph Junior said, voice thick with rage.
I gazed down at Lily and then turned, and came face to barrel with Christoph Junior’s gun. He’d dragged himself up, and now stood on his good leg, the other hanging at that grotesque angle.
“I was going to make you kill her,” Christoph Junior said, “but I don’t have time for that. You attacked me. Violated your honor. For that you have to be punished. A leader is to be respected. Father taught you that lesson. And I’ll remind you,” he said. “As soon as we finish this business.”
He lifted the gun, aimed it at Lily, who lay on the floor, unable to move away after what he had done to her.
I sprang at him and reached him before he pulled the trigger. I heard a sound from Lily but didn’t stop to look back at her. I would see to her after I finally finished this.
He was strong, stronger than usual, but I was driven by something more, and even on his best day, Christoph Junior was no match for me. I wrenched the gun from his hands and slammed the butt into his face, the spatter of blood from his newly broken nose arcing over my face and across the room, painting Lily’s tidy little rug dark red.
“You bastard! I’m going to cut off your balls and feed them to you before I kill you!”
“Christoph Junior, stop with the theatrics,” I said as calmly as I could.
“Theatrics! You attacked me!”
“Despite what you may think, I respected your role. Was happy to let you have it. But I won’t let you do this.”
Christoph Junior, hand covering his bloodied face, stared at me then with venom in his eyes. “Let me? So that’s what this is? You let me—you get to decide? You make the choices even though Father has never acknowledged you?”
He shook his head.
“It’s a different time now, Anton. My time. And you will die for what you just did.”
I could accept that. Had expected it. But I had one more question. “And Lily?”
“You should say your good-byes, Anton.”
I nodded.
Then lunged at Christoph Junior again. I reached him easily, his weakened state finally starting to take effect. I gripped his lapels and pulled him close to me, stared into his eyes, noticing how much like my own they were for the very first time.