Chapter 44
On the beach, Oxana, Defne and Emir watch as the Medusa’s launch grows closer. The sun is edging from the clouds, hazy and fiercely hot, and the sand is drying.
‘You look terrible,’ Defne says. She touches Oxana’s blood-caked neck. She turns to Emir. ‘Can we patch her up on the Medusa?’
‘No,’ Emir says flatly. ‘She stays here. We’ve got enough to deal with.’
Defne smiles obliquely. ‘We’ve certainly got some explaining to do.’
‘What are you going to tell everyone?’ Oxana asks.
Defne looks at the horizon. ‘That’s not your concern. None of this is your concern any more.’
Oxana smiles. ‘So you’re a mafiosa princess now.’
Defne touches the butt of the automatic in her waistband. ‘You saw who I was up there.’
‘And the Defne I knew?’
‘The Defne you thought you knew, Oxana.’ She shrugs. ‘You told me to be myself. To take what I wanted. Well, this is who I am. And this is what I want.’
‘I’m surprised, that’s all.’ Oxana shades her eyes with her hand. ‘I love that silk top, by the way. You should always wear leopard prints.’
‘And you should always wear wetsuits.’ Defne traces a curving line in the sand with her Hermès beach sandal and smiles sadly. ‘In the end, neither of us was who she pretended to be.’
‘So… how will it work? You and Emir will run the organisation together?’
‘We’re family. That’s how it’s always worked.’
‘And your father. He wasn’t family?’
‘He was going to betray us to the Albanians and the N’Drangheta,’ Emir says. ‘Which is why I got in touch with your people.’
‘Without telling Defne?’
‘She knows everything now. Obviously.’
‘And you’re not worried that word will get out about what happened here?’
Emir polishes his sunglasses on his shirt. ‘I hope it does. In fact, I’m counting on it. It’ll tell the world exactly who they’re dealing with.’
The launch pulls up, with Atlas at the helm. Emir takes off his shoes, wades out, and climbs in.
‘Goodbye, Defne,’ Oxana says quietly.
Defne looks at her appraisingly, reaches for Oxana’s hand, and folds something small and hard into it. ‘Thank you,’ she says. ‘And goodbye.’