War(19)

Staying quiet about seeing him was simply a precautionary measure, a way of protecting myself as best I could in this situation.

I told myself that over and over again, and prayed that if I repeated it enough, my mind might eventually believe it. My gut, my heart, however, would not be so easily convinced.





Eleven





Priest



The ride passed in grim silence, the tension in the car thick. I wouldn’t let it rattle me, but I was surprised as the vehicle came to a stop at its destination.

I’d expected the rail yard, maybe the basement of an abandoned building. Not the large, opulent mansion we’d stopped at.

Ioan opened the door and gestured I get out, his weapon nowhere in sight. He didn’t need one. Untrained eyes would miss them, but mine didn’t. Two on the roof, two on either side of the house.

Even if I made a move, I wouldn’t get beyond a half a block.

Not that I intended to, something I’d thought Vasile would know. But he’d had a difficult couple of days and wouldn’t make any mistakes or spare any pity, something I needed to remember.

I walked up the driveway and into the house, taking note of everything as I passed through the foyer.

“Here,” Ioan said.

I turned in the direction he was pointing and entered a family room.

It really was just that, a room for family. I could see that in every inch of it, children’s toys strewn in one corner, a magazine and coaster on the coffee table. I’d only seen such things on television, but even I recognized this for what it was.

A place of life, a home.

And in the middle of it sat Vasile Petran.

I’d never been in his home, but for some reason he fit. Here, among the minutiae of family life, he seemed to be where he was supposed to be. I hadn’t believed the kind of life he was attempting to build was possible, but seeing his home was proof that it could be.

And the violence that had marred his wedding proved how fleeting and fragile that life was.

Vasile knew that as well, and though he was expressionless, his face giving away nothing, I didn’t doubt that.

I’d expected at least anger, but then, his calm shouldn’t surprise me. Vasile kept tight rein on his emotions, no more so than when his family was in danger. That he was doing so now did not bode well for me.

He stood and I watched as he dropped something to the floor next to him. A child’s toy, a teddy bear. I hadn’t noticed it before, but seeing it discarded only emphasized to me what had been at stake for him. What had almost been lost.

“Your family? They are okay?” I asked.

Vasile didn’t respond and instead stepped closer, and then closer. I kept my hands away from my body, my gaze locked to his as he got within striking distance.

His punch came lightning-fast and so hard, my teeth felt as if they rattled in my mouth. My head snapped back, and for a moment I was stunned.

“Are you trying to provoke me, Priest?” he asked.

The expressionless face of the moments ago was gone, and now his features were twisted with rage. He looked as if he wanted to rip me limb from limb, something I didn’t doubt his capacity to do.

I kept my eyes on him, though, stood straight and faced him.

“No, Vasile. I’m not trying to provoke you. I was simply asking about your family’s well-being,” I said, ignoring the low throb that still pulsed in my jaw.

“You care?” he asked, his disbelief as apparent as his rage.

“As much as I can,” I said.

His eyes flashed and he clenched his teeth tight.

I’d told the truth, and since I was still alive and not currently being pummeled, that seemed to have been the correct move. Most would have come with apologies, made a great show of concern for the women and children, but from me, such words would have rung false. My reputation, lack of true connections, had me on unstable ground, and I couldn’t afford the kind of slip-up that dishonestly might bring.

“An honest answer,” Vasile said. “Or perhaps a fishing expedition? Your attempt to find out if you were successful, to find out if they are dead?”

The edge in his voice was one I hadn’t heard before, and if I had ever doubted the importance of my answer, I wouldn’t now.

I shook my head. “No. I would not want harm to come to any of those you love,” I said.

“Then why was there a shooting at my wedding, Priest? Why were bullets flying past my wife’s and daughter’s heads!”

With each word, his rage seemed to intensify, and by the time he finished, he looked on the verge of exploding and wrecking anything in his path.

“I don’t know, Vasile,” I said.

He laughed, the sound humorless and sinister. “You don’t know, eh? I thought information was your business,” he said.