Meeting his stare as the blood trickled from my nose, I could see he wanted an answer I wasn’t able to give. I didn’t know how to convince him of my father’s death. Did this asshole really think he was alive?
“He’s in the St. James Cemetery. With my mother,” I said through clenched teeth. “Now let us go!”
My voice echoed throughout the room. Dimitri’s goon cracked a smile before walking out of the room.
“That’s what he wants people to think but I know better. He’s still active. I’ve recognized his work. He stole from the wrong man.”
“What are you talking about? He was murdered. I saw him die!” I yelled angrily.
“A man like that doesn’t die so easily. I know the kind of man your father is. He wouldn’t leave his son orphaned and ignorant,” he said as he paced in front of me.
Carefully carrying a rusted iron fire poker, it’s pointed tip glowing red from the heat, Dimitri’s goon almost looked giddy. I still had no idea who these men were or why they kept asking for my dead father, but it was clear they meant business.#p#分页标题#e#
“Maybe this will jog your memory,” Dimitri said as he took the hot poker from his assistant and admired its red tip.
Deborah sobbed from behind and I was glad she couldn’t see what was going on. I thought back to that fateful night of my parents’ murder and realized not seeing might be worse. I wanted to comfort her.
“Everything will be ok,” I whispered.
Squeezing her hand the best I could I felt her squeeze back just before Dimitri swung the tip of the hot poker into my shoulder.
A searing pain shot through my arm and into my neck, forcing me to let go of Deborah’s hand. Clenching my teeth I growled in agony. The smell of burning cotton and flesh filled the air.
I felt heat of my blood ooze out of the wound as my sleeve became soaked and stuck against my skin. Deborah twisted in her seat trying to see what happened.
“Fuck you!” I said between clenched teeth before lowering my voice. “I’m ok, Deborah. It’s just…my shoulder…a fireplace poker…”
The room swayed between the pain in my shoulder and the throbbing still in my head. The light went out as a gust of wind entered the room, leaving us in total darkness. I squeezed Deborah’s hand reassuringly although I didn’t know what was going on.
“Everything will be ok,” I whispered.
The sounds of confused men echoed against the stone walls from the other room. As I tried to force my eyes to adjust, the only thing I could see was a thin line of light seeping through a boarded up window I hadn’t noticed before.
“Stay put.”
The commanding male voice was familiar. I straightened, frozen as my mind tried to make sense of it. All my pain replaced by confusion.
“It can’t be,” I whispered.
“Who?” Deborah asked, her voice hoarse.
I didn’t answer her. I couldn’t. I had to be wrong. I hadn’t heard that voice in twenty-five years.
The clank of the fire poker hitting the floor filled the room, followed by the smell of iron I recognized as blood. Shouts came from the other room but were quickly silenced. I thought I heard the unmistakeable heavy boots of the large man running but then nothing. Only deafening silence.
The dangling light bulb switched on, momentarily blinding me as it swung back and forth. Once my eyes adjusted, I spotted Dimitri laying face down on the floor, the poker sticking through his chest, propping him up slightly off the floor as he laid in a black pool of his own blood.
Just beyond him was his giant assistant, sprawled out on the floor like a mountain. That was enough for me. I turned as much as I could to check on Deborah and realized the rope around us had been loosened.
Quickly slipping out of our ties we clutched at each other, glad to be free. Deborah pushed away and gently touched my wounded shoulder, making me wince.
“It’ll be fine, let’s just get out of here,” I said as I looked around, unsure which way to go.
“This way,” Stewart said from the doorway, as he wiped his hands, his forceful voice surprising me.
Grabbing Deborah’s hand, I could tell she wasn’t steady on her feet. I slipped my arm underneath hers and helped her towards Stewart into the adjoining room. We stepped over several men dressed similar to our kidnappers earlier with their dark tshirts and bald heads. I recognized Stewart’s work in there from the last attempt on my life. But who was in the room with us?
Without a word we followed Stewart outside where a car waited, its engine already running. He opened the back door and I helped Deborah inside. The fresh air seemed to help the affects of the drug and she smiled softly at me.