Chapter 32
32
Christa
I push a piece of wire into the door lock, wiggling it around and hoping for the best. The bed is old and practically falling apart, so breaking off a piece of the spring wasn’t hard to do. But the sound of approaching footsteps makes me jump away from the door and back up against the cold window. I slip the wire in my back pocket, cutting my finger in the process.
Rain patters on the thick glass. Thunder rumbles in the distance, flashes of lightning dance across the sky. My heart is beating a million miles a minute as I wonder if this is it. I’d hoped I’d have more time to attempt an escape. I’m worried sick about Cassius, River, and Nathan. For the past couple of hours, I’ve been praying for their safety.
The door opens.
Alexandra walks in with a broad, sickening smile. “Did you miss me?”
“Not really, no.”
“That’s a shame. And I even brought you a present. It turned out way better than I had hoped, to be honest,” she says.
Vince comes in next, and he’s not alone. The Hawthorne brothers are with him, their hands up as Mancini goons keep guns pointed at their heads. I would jump for joy if it weren’t for my current situation, but I can still breathe a sigh of relief upon seeing them alive and in one piece.
“You’re okay,” Cassius says, giving me a soft smile.
I nod slowly, then frown at the wound on Nathan’s cheek. “Are you okay?”
“Oh, yes, they survived Vince’s bombs,” Alexandra giggles, then looks at her brother. “I told you it would be a waste of good C4.”
“It got them here, didn’t it? It’s what you wanted after you changed your mind about twenty times along the way,” Vince grumbles as he leans against the wall, shotgun resting beside him. “Now let’s be done with it and get back to business. We’ve got damage control to deal with before Jonas hears about this.”
“All in good time,” Alexandra says, quite satisfied with herself. I see she’s even dressed up for the occasion, opting for a tight beige midi dress and deep red boots, gold bracelets jingling around her wrists with every movement of her hands. “Now, how is everybody? Happy? Eager to be reunited?”
“What the fuck is this?” Nathan snaps.
“I’m simply enjoying this,” she says, her gaze bouncing from one Hawthorne to the other before it settles back on me. “I’ve dreamed of this moment so many times, with every visit I made to see our father in prison. You know, he’s wasting away in there. I doubt he’ll survive much longer.”
Cassius scoffs. “I thought the Mancinis would be protected in prison.”
“Let’s just say some of the inmates don’t like him very much,” Alexandra replies. “I’ve made my peace with his predicament. You’re the last step in my own personal twelve-step program, I suppose. Once I’m done with you, I can move on with my life.”
“Twelve-step programs are for addicts,” River says.
“And I have been addicted to my need to avenge our father,” Alexandra sighs. “It’s fine, now. See, Vince? I got my way in the end. See why I deserve Daddy’s seat at the table?”
She plans to kill us all, right here, right now.
Our time is running out.
“Figures,” I chuckle dryly, looking at Vince.
“What is it, honey? Finally tasting defeat?” Alexandra giggles. “Vince, hand me the shotgun, please.”
He lowers his gaze and does as he’s told. Alexandra takes the weapon and slightly turns to face the Hawthorne brothers.
“What are you doing?” I ask with a trembling voice.
“Isn’t it obvious?” she quips. “I have a question, Christa, because I’m not sure how this thing between the four of you works. Do you love them equally, or do you have a favorite?”
“Don’t be stupid, Alexandra. You know people are already out there looking for us,” River warns her. “The Feds are onto you.”
I see the concern darkening Vince’s face, but Alexandra won’t budge. She is determined to see this through to the end.
“Which one do you like best? Cassius, Mr. Righteous himself? Or River, the charmer? Or is it Nathan here, Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome? Whose head should I blow off first, Christa? You decide.”
“This is what it has come to?” I ask Vince. “Have you no dignity as a man? No honor as a Mancini?”
Alexandra laughs. “Really? You’re going to play that card? You sound so desperate.”
“What would your father say if he could see you, right now?” I ask Vince. “You let your sister boss you around like you’re nothing more than a goon. Why, you might as well be a paid enforcer. You should be wearing black jeans and a leather jacket, too, and be eating in the cantina with the rest of the grunts.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Alexandra warns me and points the shotgun. “I think we’ll do an eeny-meeny-miny-moe.”
“Vince Mancini, the gum stuck to your sister’s Louboutins, huh?” I openly mock him, and I can see the vein bulging on the side of his neck as his face turns red with anger.
“I’ll do it,” he tells his sister. “Give me the gun.”
“Piss off. It’s my pleasure,” she replies.
I laugh again. “See? You’re a fucking joke. If you think you’ll have any decision-making power once Alexandra takes over your uncle’s seat, you’re not just delusional, you’re also as dumb as your sister keeps making you out to be.”
“Alexandra, give me the fucking gun,” Vince snaps and tries to wrestle the shotgun away from her.
It’s all I need. That split-second of discord to distract them.
“Nathan!” I shout and throw the bedspring wire over to him.
He catches it and immediately switches into someone else. I freeze by the window as I watch all hell break loose.
Nathan uses the sharp end of the spring to slit open an enforcer’s throat, while River and Cassius coordinate to get out of the line of fire.
“You stupid fuck!” Alexandra grunts.
But it’s too late.
Cassius rams into them.
She ends up rolling across the floor while Cassius wrestles the shotgun out of Vince’s hands. River and Nathan handle the remaining enforcers.
POP-POP!
River ducks, then springs up and punches one guy in the throat. I hear the crackle, followed by a wheezing and gurgling that send shivers down my spine. River grabs his gun and starts firing at the same time as Nathan, who picks up a weapon from the floor.
POP-POP. POP.
Bodies thud in the doorway and in the hallway. Blood sprays across the room. I wince and try to move farther away, but Alexandra grabs me by the ankle and yanks with all the rage of a homicidal bitch.
“Come here!” she snarls.
I land on the floor with a grunt, and she quickly climbs on top of me, hands grasping my throat. She tries to choke me, but I wrestle her off me, scratching and clawing at her face until I draw blood.
“OUCH!” she screams as Nathan grabs a handful of her hair and drags her away.
BOOM!
Everything stops.
I fear the worst has happened as my eyes desperately search for the source of the explosion. Cassius is on one knee, panting and bloodied and holding the shotgun. Smoke swirls out of the wide muzzle.
Vince is dead and wide-eyed, splayed on his back and chockful of lead.
“No…” Alexandra gasps at the sight of her wasted brother, his blood spreading into a crimson pool around him like an eerie kind of aura.
I exhale heavily, slowly sitting up. My heart is on a wild rampage somewhere in my throat, sweat dripping from every pore, but I’m okay.
“I’m not done with you yet,” Nathan says, and pins Alexandra face-down on the floor, tying her hands behind her back. “And I’m not done with your fucking family either.”
“You killed my brother,” she sobs, suddenly at a loss. I barely recognize her, oddly enough.
“No, you killed him,” Cassius replies and sets the shotgun down. “The minute you talked him into this foolishness, you signed his death sentence. This is on you, Alexandra, and no one else.”
“Oh, God,” I whisper, the adrenaline quick to subside.
River assesses the situation with a deep frown, rapidly removing weapons from the fallen enforcers and checking their pulses. Sirens wail somewhere outside. Red and blue lights flash through the window, brighter and brighter.
A silence lingers for a moment as we all look at one another.
There’s so much I want to say, yet words fail me. Tears spring from my eyes as my whole body starts to shake, knowing it’s truly over.
Nathan is the first to reach me and take me in his arms, helping me off the floor. I welcome his warmth and his strength and his hard body against mine.
“I told you we’d be okay,” he whispers in my ear.
“I can’t believe you made it,” I say, shuddering as River and Cassius join the hug. They tighten their ranks and almost squash me between them. “My God, this feels so good,” I laugh lightly, relief washing over me like golden sunlight.
It doesn’t matter that it’s raining cats and dogs out there.
It doesn’t matter that we’re surrounded by dead bodies and in the company of a sobbing psychopath who can’t take her eyes off her brother’s corpse.
It doesn’t matter that we all hear the thundering of boots up the stairs as police and federal agents storm the building.
“It was a gamble,” Cassius tells me. “We didn’t really know what we were walking into, but we understood whom we were dealing with.”
“You were so awesome,” I manage.
“And you, Christa, were a rock,” River replies. “You stood your ground, you held on, and you fought back.”
“I’m just so happy to see you, to be with you.”
“Nothing gets in the way of our love, baby,” Nathan says and plants a soft kiss on my lips.
I melt into them, letting the seconds we have left turn into the sweetest eternity. In just a few moments, life will come back to haunt us and drag us back into a rather painful reality—the aftermath of a failed execution attempt. The aftermath of what could’ve been my last minutes on earth.
But they saved me.
My men… they saved me in more ways than one way tonight.