Fall(Romanian Mob Chronicles Book 2)(33)

“We had a deal. I was going to help you,” he said.

“You were going to help yourself. Then bury me in a shallow grave.”

She lifted her eyes from Petey’s prone form to me.

“You see what I was willing to risk for you? Put myself in business with people like him, people who would only cause me harm.”

“You weren’t risking anything for me, Natasha. Only yourself,” I replied.

She scoffed and shook her head. “No. I had it all planned out easy. Stupid Petey here wanted to be his father’s successor but then he realized that Christoph wasn’t that out of his mind. And his clan will never let the bastard be in charge. It was perfect. Petey was going to shoot you, and Vasile would have been left with no choice but to retaliate.”

“And what if Vasile had come after Petey instead, come after both of them? Did you two ever consider that?”

“Vasile wouldn’t waste the time on that moron,” she said with a dismissive sneer. “And so anyway, Petey’s brother would be gone, he’d take over the family, and I would nurse you back to health. Make you finally see what you’d ignored for all those years.”

She turned sharply, pointed her gun at Esther again. “But then she showed up. Caught your eye for God knows what reason, and I was again nothing, still nothing. Tossed aside to be picked up again later. Natasha, always there but never really there,” she said, her voice dripping with sadness.

“Do you want to do this, Natasha? Ruin a lifetime of friendship, the generations-long ties that bind our families. Do you really want to toss that all away?” I asked.

“I told you before, what I want doesn’t matter.”

She turned to Esther again, gun extended, and time slowed down before my eyes. I could see the tautness in her extended arm, the way her long, graceful fingers curved around the trigger.

I could also see that I’d never make it in time.

I didn’t let that stop me, though, and I raced toward her at full speed, not even slowing when the loud boom of the gun again rang out.

Not slowing when I reached the spot where Natasha had stood and found only air.

Not slowing as the gun clattered against the ground, the sound followed by Natasha’s sharp scream, one that was cut off with a grunt as she hit the hard ground with Anton atop her.

If she’d hit her head, the impact would have killed her. As it was, I thought I heard the low snap of something on her body breaking. But I still moved, grabbed the gun that had fallen to the floor.

“I’m sorry it has to end this way,” I said, weapon trained on her.

When she looked at me, the pain that had clouded her eyes cleared and she smiled almost gleefully.

“Go ahead, do it. Blow my brains out. See if she loves you after that,” she spat.

Almost involuntarily, I looked over at Esther, saw the dawning horror on her face. Knew that if she saw this, it would kill whatever we’d built, knew that no matter what, I couldn’t let that happen.





Seventeen





Esther



This had to be a dream. The most awful nightmare I ever could have conjured up. It all felt surreal, the man who’d taken me from my home moaning as his life slowly seeped out of him. The kid who’d tried to rob me ghost white, probably more in shock than I’d been. The other man calm, adjusting his tie as he stood. Natasha on the ground, writhing in pain.

And Sorin standing above her, looking for all the world like this was nothing.

I flinched, waited for the gun to go off, knowing my life had changed irreparably, wondering how much more it would after this was done.

“Mr. Petran,” the man said finally.

Sorin kept his eyes on Natasha and then looked over to him.

“On behalf of Clan Constantin, I extend my sincerest apologies. Christoph would be deeply grateful if you’d allow us to deal with Petey in house. We’d also like to take care of Ms. Florescu if you wouldn’t mind.”

I glanced at Natasha, and for the first time, I could see fear in her face.

Sorin lowered the gun and handed it to the other man.

“It would be my pleasure,” he said.

Natasha’s eyes widened. “No, Sorin! You can’t give me to them. You know what they’ll do to me,” she cried on a high-pitched wail.

“Anton, please tell Christoph I’ll be in touch,” Sorin said, completely ignoring Natasha.

Anton gestured toward Natasha and the kid snapped out of his stupor and ran to her, hoisting her over his shoulder. Anton did the same with Petey, seemingly unbothered by the blood that gushed from him.

And then they were gone, and Sorin and I were alone.





* * *



Sorin



I went over to her, pulled her into my arms and held her tight, pretended that she wasn’t stiff, wasn’t pulling away. She didn’t say anything, so I let her go, stared down at her. A shiver racked her frame and she looked as vulnerable and scared as I’d ever seen her.