40. A Final Tarry
40
A Final Tarry
Darius
When I caught sight of Lilith in the shadows, I knew my opportunity for a sneak attack was imminent.
Irina is surrounded by men, hiding behind a bunch of people who likely have no wish to be there. Antonio starts shooting people randomly, and quickly, her human defense begins to unravel, panic overtaking them as more and more bodies drop to the floor.
Disappearing into the shadows, I sneak around behind the group, taking out a few silently before they all begin to regroup, rejuvenated by the sight of reinforcements showing in droves. Cursing, I take out my weapons, pistol in one hand, four-inch blade in the other, then start cutting a path more quickly, shooting people indiscriminately, stabbing and slashing until finally, Irina is directly in front of me.
I leave my blade in the eye socket of the man closest to me, then wrap my arm around her neck, yanking her back and pressing the barrel of my gun to the side of her head. “Back off.”
Irina freezes, her voice fearful as she says, “Do what he says.”
They all back away slowly, though none of them seem to be too upset about it.
My arm tightens on her neck, looking forward to slowly choking the very life out of her. Her hands yank on my forearm, her nails scratching viciously wherever she can find skin, but I don’t give a fuck as I say coldly, “It’s time for you to die.”
“I don’t fucking think so,” a voice interrupts, and I freeze, turning to glance behind me. Dmitri walks into view, his weapon pointed at my head. “Well, isn’t this a happy reunion?”
Goddamn it.
“For the love of fuck,” I seethe. “Will you just fucking die already.”
Dmitri eyes me, humor in his gaze as he responds, “Would love to help you out there, but it seems you have something that is mine.”
Frowning, I respond, “How many times do we have to tell you? You can’t have Antoinette.”
He laughs. “Well, her, too, but in this case, I was referring to the woman you’re currently choking.”
I relax my arm around her neck, allowing her to take a small breath before squeezing a bit harder than I was before.
Dmitri continues to hold his gun on me, appearing rather nonchalant as his gaze wanders around the room. “Let my mother go, Mr. Hughes.”
“Over my dead fucking body.”
Dmitri quirks a brow, his eyes meeting mine as he waves the gun a bit and retorts, “Well, yes, obviously.”
“Go ahead then,” I sneer. “Stop fucking talking about it and just get it over with.”
Antonio groans and takes a few steps toward us as he says, “Let’s just remain calm here for a minute.”
“Shut up,” Dmitri and I shout at the same time, our glaring eyes remaining locked. After a long pause, Dmitri says, “Just let her speak for a moment.”
I eye him suspiciously, knowing full well what happens when you allow an enemy to speak. I glance around the room for my people, making eye contact with Tony and Antoinette who both nod, so, after a beat, I relax my arm enough so she can breathe but not so far that she can easily escape.
Irina takes a few gasping breaths, her hands still gripping my forearm tightly. Then she turns her head so she’s looking at Dmitri. “Well, it’s about fucking time you showed up.”
“Don’t fucking start,” Dmitri responds, obviously annoyed. “I got here as soon as I could.”
Irina laughs bitterly. “Always fucking too late, Dmitri. You’re as bad as your good-for-nothing father.”
“Don’t you think,” Dmitri retorts calmly, “that maybe this isn’t the best time to act like a fucking cow.”
Irina gasps in outrage, suddenly fighting against my hold as she attempts to kick out at him. “You ungrateful piece of shit.”
I tighten my hold on her neck, having to work to keep her reined in, and for a moment, a sliver of sympathy sneaks in because I’m sure this is the type of mothering Dmitri is accustomed to.
Dmitri appears nonplussed by her verbal attack, not even bothering to step back or attempt to reply as she lashes out. “I always knew you were useless. Should’ve killed you before you were even born instead of torturing myself all these years having to put up with such an embarrassment. Should’ve abor—“
Bang.
Warm blood splatters all over my face, and, abruptly, Irina stops talking. She sags against my arm, blood dripping from the hole in her head, and I release her, letting her drop to the concrete like a sack of bricks.
“That’s much better,” Dmitri says nonchalantly, wiping the blood from his own face as if he’s wiping nothing more than rainwater from his lashes. “I thought she would never shut her fucking mouth.”
We all stand there, gaping at the scene that just unfolded, and Dmitri looks at the horde of men still milling around. “Consider this the end of your contract. You’re all free to go.”
Only a handful of the men hesitate, confusion evident on all of their features. Most everyone else turns tail and books it toward the exits, not looking back. The few stragglers also disappear, and then Dmitri turns back to me and says, “Now, where were we?”
I admit I’m rarely shocked by anyone’s actions, and this is definitely one of those rare moments. From the expression on Lilith’s face, it appears I’m not the only one who feels a certain way, and a glance around the room confirms I’m most definitely not alone.
Lilith walks closer, her expression disappointed. “Now how are we supposed to get the rest of the answers we need?”
“All we ever got from trying to get answers from our enemies is more enemies,” I reply dryly, and she nods, unable to argue with my statement because it’s the fucking truth.
Then Dmitri’s gun is back against my head. “Drop your weapon.”
I glance at him, contemplating my next move, when Antoinette says, “Don’t be stupid, Dare.”
Raising my brows, I retort innocently, “Who? Me?”
She rolls her eyes and crosses her arms over her chest. “Yeah, you. Do what the man says.”
I laugh, lowering my weapon but not dropping it as instructed. “So, you’re on his side now?”
Antoinette gives me an impatient look, then tilts her head as she scoffs, “Seriously, Darius?”
“Are you two about done?” Dmitri interrupts, the end of his gun knocking the side of my head a bit.
“Ow,” I complain, attempting to lift my free hand to massage my bruised scalp, but he knocks my hand down with a dirty look. “No fast movements.”
“It wasn’t exactly fast,” I mutter, a little thrill running through me as his scowl deepens. Lord knows being annoying has gotten me out of more than a few things in my day, and I can only hope that streak will continue on this day.
Dmitri moves closer to me, the gun moving into a better position to kill me instantly. “You really wanna die today?”
I go to make another clever retort, but Antoinette interrupts, “Back off, Dmitri.”
“Why would I do that?” he asks without looking at her.
Antoinette glares at him. “Because you gave me your word.”
I roll my eyes, annoyance bubbling up inside me at the idea that she would believe anything this fucker says after all he put her through.
Dmitri eyes her coolly, his brows lifting as he replies, “As if that means anything at all.”
“I think it does.”
I snort, and Dmitri gives me another dirty look, his hand tightening on the gun still pressed against the side of my head as if he’s reminding me of the precarious position I’m in, but still, I taunt, “Go ahead and shoot me, you fucking prick. Then at least she’ll have to admit what a fucking lying shitbag you are.”
Dmitri frowns, his eyes moving from Antoinette back to me, obviously quite conflicted by the back-and-forth between us. Then Antoinette says, “Don’t fucking listen to him, Dmitri. He’s just fucking jealous.”
My eyes widen, fury running through me at her words. “Fucking jealous of what?”
The look she gives me can only be described as cutting. “You know what.”
“What are you doing?” Antonio whisper-shouts at Antoinette.
She just puts her hand up dismissively and responds, “Getting to the bottom of this once and for all.”
“I’m relatively certain we have been to the bottom and then some,” Antonio mutters, but he stands down, obviously resigned to however this is going to play out.
“So, you’re going to be a fucking bitch then,” I spit out, and she stiffens, sputtering curses in my direction that don’t even make sense.
Dmitri sighs loudly and leans forward a bit as he asks Lilith, “These two always like this?”
Lilith nods, then shrugs. “Pretty much. Though this,” she pauses and points between Antoinette and me before continuing, “is kind of your fault.”
“My fault?”
Lilith’s eyes widen. “Uh-huh. You are the reason she was missing for months.”
“And also the reason she lives at all.”
Lilith rolls her eyes and makes a rather rude noise. “That would hold far more merit if you hadn’t brainwashed her into believing you were married.”
Dmitri has the decency to wince. “Fair point.”
“Can we get fucking on with this already?” I say impatiently. “My feet hurt from standing on concrete, and the blood drying on my face is starting to itch.”
Dmitri leans close to me and asks, “How do you see this going?”
“I honestly don’t fucking care anymore,” I retort. “Someone shoot someone so we can go home.”
Dmitri laughs, the strange sound of it making my skin crawl, and then he says, “I thought about it, you know.”
“About what?” Antoinette responds.
“About keeping my word.”
Now, I laugh gleefully, “I fucking knew it.”
Antoinette glares at me, opening her mouth to respond, but I stop her by putting my hand up. “You can’t fucking have her,” I snarl. “How many times do I have to say this before you get it into your idiotic fucking head?”
“Shouldn’t she be allowed to make that choice?”
Again, I laugh, shaking my head. “She made her choice a few years ago now, and no, she actually doesn’t have the right to change her mind now.”
Dmitri looks to Antoinette, who looks surprisingly conflicted, and I stop laughing. “Antoinette, surely you cannot be serious.”
She doesn’t say anything, but her gaze keeps going from me to Dmitri and back again, the frown on her face almost pained. Everyone remains quiet, likely as fucked as I am over this conversation, and then, after a long moment of silence, I mutter, “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
“Fight to the death, then,” Dmitri says matter-of-factly, lowering his weapon and tossing it.
I blink at him, uncertain where he’s going with this but liking the death part immensely. “What?”
“That’s how we end this,” Dmitri replies seriously. “No weapons, no tricks, just fists and rage.”
“I don’t want to be the one to dissuade you,” Tony interjects. “But have you met the Beast?”
I give Tony a dirty look as Dmitri frowns, looks me up and down, then nods. “I get what you mean. I suppose I deserve a head start for being clearly outmatched.”
“Seems fair,” Matt offers helpfully. “Maybe a few undefended potshots to start us off.”
“Wait just a minute,” Antoinette objects. “I’m not a prize to be won by violence.”
“It’s his death sentence,” Lilith responds.
But then Antoinette replies, “This is obviously a fucking trap. There’s no way Dmitri would set himself up to die.”
Not wanting to give the man time to change his mind, I toss my gun to the side, then strip out of my suit jacket, blood-spattered as it is. Rolling up the sleeves of my white shirt, I ask, “How we gonna keep this fair?”
“You tell your men not to interfere.”
I look around the room as I state, “Don’t interfere,” then I turn back to Dmitri and add, “No fucking funny business from you either.”
He nods. “May the best man win.”
We square off to the tune of Antoinette still protesting, and I do my best to drown her out, putting all of my focus on Dmitri, who’s looking a bit smug. We dance around each other for a moment, but then I get annoyed and stop moving. “You gonna do something, or we gonna play two-step all damn night?”
He smiles, his hands coming up in front of him as he says, “I was just thinking about how nice it was to sleep beside my wife.” My teeth grind together, my urge to snag the knife from my leg sheath crashing over me. His smile grows smug, his eyes taking on a dreamy glow as he adds, “There really was nothing quite like having a Mrs. Petr—“
His words are cut short by Antoinette ramming him at full speed. They go flying, tumbling, and sliding along the concrete until they come to a rest a few feet from where everyone is gathered around. At first, Dmitri comes out on top, and I take a step toward them only to have Tony and Matt each grab an arm, holding me back.
I struggle for a moment, but then Lilith and Antonio step in front of me, and we all stand there, watching as Antoinette gets the upper hand by driving her fist into Dmitri’s throat and then flinging him off her. She comes to her feet in one move, prowls toward him where he’s still sprawled on his back, and grits out, “How many fucking times do I have to tell you?”
He chokes and coughs, his hands gripping his throat as he shakes his head. “My.” She kicks him in the gut. “Name.” She kicks him again. “Is.” And again. “Hughes.” This time, she kicks him in the face, his head snapping back, blood and saliva flying from his mouth.
He rolls onto his back, and she follows slowly, drawing her knife from her jacket and holding it out in front of her. Her lips curve up, and she sighs, but then Dmitri says something incoherent, and she asks, “What was that?”
He coughs, clears his throat, and whispers a bit louder this time, “No weapons.”
Pursing her lips, she squints down at him, then sighs and tosses the knife away. She takes a step toward him just as his hand snakes out, gripping her foot and yanking, and she goes down on her back, barely managing to turn onto her side before he’s on her.
Once more, I try to move forward, and again, our people hold me back, refusing to allow me to interfere. My breath catches in my throat, but a movement behind her catches my eyes, and I see Agatha lurking, ready to fuck around if needed.
They grapple briefly, each getting the upper hand only to have it reversed almost immediately. Finally, after a struggle, Antoinette manages to secure her legs around his waist, her arms twisting around his neck until he’s immobilized. She squeezes, obviously intent on choking him out, but at the last second, he manages to force his hands between them, pushing back as he swings around, slamming her onto her back.
She holds on tighter as he attempts to push off, hanging onto his neck like a monkey. He struggles harder, but she twists and wriggles relentlessly until he finally changes tactics, falling forward with her pushing him away.
He presses closer and closer, her arms weakening slowly. His eyes light up with excitement as he gets a hand beneath her, his arm sliding under her neck.
But then, her legs shift higher on his torso, her arms giving way completely so he falls on her. Twisting his arm down, she pins it between them, then grips him around his shoulders, her other hand fisting in his hair as she jerks his head to the side.
He attempts to rear back, but it’s too late, the positioning of their bodies and gravity working in Antoinette’s favor as she rips into his carotid with her incisors. His eyes widen, and he struggles even harder, but it’s no use. His thrashing only assists Antoinette on her mission to end his miserable life.
“That is so gross,” Agatha says loudly, her arms crossed over her chest. “I am never doing that.”
Lilith shrugs, not even remotely bothered, which isn’t a surprise, given how I previously met her, back in the day. “Don’t knock it, honey. Doesn’t get more personal than that.”
“I hope she’s got all her shots,” Agatha replies, obviously not convinced.
Lilith snickers, and then we all fall silent, watching as Antoinette pushes Dmitri off her, then rolls to her hands and knees, choking and retching.
Tony goes to her, pulls a flask out of his jacket pocket, and hands it to her. “Here. This will help.” She looks up at him questioningly, and he replies a bit sheepishly, “Grain alcohol. Just in case.”
Antoinette laughs humorlessly but takes the flask from him, pouring some into her mouth and swishing it around for a few seconds before spitting it out, then doing it again.
Matt joins them and hands her a handkerchief, which she also takes, then pours some of the liquid onto it and wipes her face and chest. Once she’s satisfied with her cleanup, she stands, hands Tony his flask back, and drops the ruined handkerchief on the floor.
Then she moves to where Dmitri is still lying on his back, not moving other than the occasional gasping breath. She stands over him, expression blank, hands balled into fists at her sides as she says, “You forgot that I am a weapon.”
A choked laugh falls from his bloody lips. “I didn’t forget. I was counting on it.”
Antoinette stares down at him blankly, but he doesn’t move; he just lies on the concrete, bleeding, his eyes focused on her face as he adds, “I’m glad it was you.”
Antoinette remains there for a few moments, watching the life drain from his eyes, and then she frowns, anger and disgust emanating from her features. But she says nothing further, just turning from him and walking away.
Coming to a stop in front of Tony, she says, “Make sure he stays dead.”
Tony nods, looking at Matt, who replies, “Clean-up crew incoming.”
Lilith puts her hand on Antoinette’s arm, and the long look they share speaks more than any words ever could. But then Lilith scowls, pinching her sharply as she says, “For fuck’s sake, Antoinette Hughes, what was that all about? Giving me a fucking heart attack with all your conflicted mumbo jumbo.”
Antoinette smiles brightly. “That was good, right? Y’all totally bought it, didn’t you?”
Now, I scowl and shake my head. “That was entirely unnecessary.”
“You’re entirely wrong on that one, Darius.” Antoinette turns her smile on me, winking as she adds, “He’d already decided today would be his last. I needed him to think there was a chance I’d choose him; otherwise, he likely would’ve taken you with him just out of spite.”
Pressing my lips together, I nod, knowing she’s likely correct in the assumption that he would have ended my life knowing his time was up. A whole new spin on the whole ‘if I can’t have you, neither can my competition.’ Who better to join him in hell than the man loved by the woman he wanted and couldn’t have?
Lilith turns to Matt, her expression suddenly turning sad. “We lost Mickey.”
My stomach sinks, and everyone gasps at once. Lilith puts a hand up, stopping the inevitable onslaught of words and hugs. “We can discuss it later. I just need to know you’ll bring him home.”
Matt nods emphatically, his expression pained. “Of course. He’ll get the burial he deserves.”
Lilith wipes her eyes, saying nothing else before Antonio and Agatha lead her toward the exit.
“You guys good?” I ask Tony and Matt, not wanting to stick them with all the dirty work. Matt nods in confirmation, and Tony waves me off. “Go take care of her. We got this.”
Nodding my thanks, I turn toward where Antoinette was following her mother out, only to find her standing there, waiting for me. I walk toward her, stopping a few feet from her, my hands shoved into my pockets awkwardly.
She searches my gaze for a moment, then sighs, extending her hand to me. “Let’s go home.”
I do my best to hide my smile and mostly fail as I grip her hand in mine, allowing her to lead me out.