Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
I clench my jaw. It doesn’t feel good to hear that my father’s life is worth less than this Russian’s access to cheap drugs, but it doesn’t surprise me—that’s how this world works. This horrible, fallen world.
“Why approach me then?” Luca asks, moving slightly to stand between me and the Russians.
“The girl. She’s a loose end. I was sent to find out if it was true, if you really did marry her. There are rumors. And I think they may be true.” He glances at the ring on my finger and I hide it behind my back too slowly.
“My relationship with Kacia isn’t your concern.”
Yuri sighs and Armen bristles, glaring daggers. “That’s the problem. It’s very much our concern. See, if you have the girl, you might be able to wrestle away some of the Greek crime lords and their very nice, very cheap marijuana. That’s where the money is at these days, right? Heroin, meth, cocaine, it’s all too much trouble, but weed still pays the bills. Like I said, this is all about business, and we can’t have—”
Luca moves fast. He lunges forward and Yuri’s caught off guard as Luca buries his fist into the man’s face. Yuri’s jaw cracks back with an audible crunch and he drops to the pavement with a strangled groan. Armen steps back in shock and reaches for something beneath his puffer jacket, but Luca’s on him already. He wrestles the smaller man to the ground and smashes his forehead into the Russian’s face once, twice, three times, until he’s lying there groaning, bleeding from his nose and a split lip. Luca finds a gun in the guy’s waistband, pulls it out, and holds it pointed at Yuri’s head. At the same time, Yuri comes up with his own gun drawn, and neither man moves.
Birds flutter from the trees and I can almost taste the blood in the air. I lick my lips, thinking of my dead family. Would this be justice? If these men kill each other? The traitor Russians, the murderous Italians. Maybe it’d be good if they tore each other to shreds.
It’s a tense, quiet standoff. Luca’s breathing hard and my hands are at my mouth. I want to scream but I’m too terrified to make a move, and the bald Russian guy rolls from side to side, groaning in pain. Luca’s eyes narrow as he slowly gets to his feet, never taking his eyes from Yuri.
“You can tell your boss I said to fuck off.” His voice is quiet but firm, like he’s having a casual conversation over coffee, instead of pointing a gun at a man’s face. “If I find another Russian following me while I’m out with my wife, I won’t give them another warning.”
“You’re making a mistake,” Yuri says, sneering. Blood drips from his nose and lip. “My bosses wanted to talk about an alliance. After this? Who knows. Maybe it’s back to war.”
“We don’t want an alliance with you.”
“My bratva is strong, you Italian fool. We can work together. Build something better.”
My biggest fear. But Luca doesn’t seem to think it’s a good idea, and my heart flutters with confusion.
“I’m not interested.” Luca moves the gun and points it at the bald guy’s head. “Lower your weapon.”
Yuri hesitates. His eye flit over to mine and back to Luca. He does some quick math, probably wondering if he can shoot me before Luca kills him and Armen, and decides his partner’s life is worth saving. He slowly points his gun down at the ground. Luca backs away from Yuri, and once he’s by my side, he pulls me into the trees with him.
“If we can’t work together, we’ll have to fight you,” Yuri calls out as Luca turns and we hurry away, cutting through the trees. “We could have negotiated! There’s enough for everyone!”
We dodge branches and bushes and brambles, hurrying through the underbrush, my sneakers crunching over dead leaves and sticks. Luca pulls me down a hill. Once we reach the bottom, he finds another path that snakes toward the central section of the park. We pause at a storm drain and Luca throws the gun inside before we hurry on.
“Hold on,” I say once we’re near a major fountain surrounded by people. “Stop for a second.”
He grunts and turns on me. “Did you know?”
“Excuse me?”
He gets in my face. People stare, but he doesn’t seem to care. “Did you know?”
“About the Russians? Of course not.”
“They weren’t threatening you. Why? Why wouldn’t they want you dead?”
“I don’t know. What the hell, Luca? I’ve been stuck with you since everything happened. Do you think I’ve been sending secret messages behind your back?”
He snarls and shakes his head before pacing back and forth. Finally, he sits on the edge of the fountain and glares at me.
“This is going to be a problem. It’s bad enough that we need to get the Greeks on board, but with the Russians opposing us, it’s going to be impossible.”