Chapter 8 Tommy #3
An explosion on the street outside sends me crashing into the deli display with meats and cheese that’s next to the desk with the register.
Glass flies everywhere, but before it can do any real damage, Niko snatches me out of its way.
We tumble to the ground and out of its path, his breathing erratic as I land on top of his chest.
“Tommy—”
“I’m okay!” Mostly, though a sharp pain surges through me when I use my arms to get up.
Oh fuck, I think some glass struck my elbow and the wound reopened.
Shit. I grit my teeth and try to ignore it.
I’m sure it’s not as bad as it feels. For now, there are more important things we need to focus on, like what the hell just happened.
“What was that?” I demand, coughing from all the dust and destruction.
Niko crawls over to the window, the one that’s missing all the glass, but is otherwise still somewhat intact, and pops his head out. I didn’t think it was actually possible, but I see him go pale as a ghost with my own two eyes.
“What? What is it?” I say, my stomach twisting into a ball of anxiety as a grim expression takes over his face.
“They are here. Those four Crew men from the plane. They found us.”
“What?”
Now, I’m not na?ve. I expected the Crew to catch up to us eventually. But those four on the plane? I’m ninety-nine percent sure they couldn’t fly it and it crashed, so how are they still alive? Or did they manage to land it somehow? Since when are Crew goons trained pilots? This makes no sense.
“Can we fight them?” is the first thing that comes out of my mouth as foreboding silence settles between us. The men will figure out we’re hiding in the lovely grandma’s shop any moment now and we really need to have some kind of a plan when it happens.
“They are armed and we aren’t. And I… There’s something I need to tell you,” Niko trails off, pinning his eyes on the ground.
This again. What could possibly be more important than figuring out our survival tactics?
Niko bites on his bottom lip. It’s something I haven’t really seen him do, which tells me whatever he’s about to confess is not entirely inconsequential to our current predicament. “You know how I killed one of the Crew’s officers? Before I faked my death and disappeared?”
I blink, kind of following but not really. “Yes, of course. It’s your greatest achievement. Everyone knows about it.”
“Right. So…”
I watch him carefully. It’s how I notice the slight sag in his shoulders, the uncertainty passing over his features. I crouch to him and take his hand in mine, squeezing it tightly. “What is it, Niko? You can tell me.”
He combs my messy hair with his fingers, letting out a sigh that brings a shy smile to his lips. It’s a different smile, less unhinged and more private, something meant just for me. My heart swells with bliss despite the danger waiting to crash our moment.
“I didn’t kill that officer. It was an accident.
I tried everything. I shot at him. I stabbed him.
I beat his shit up. I hit him with a pipe.
But he wouldn’t drop. So I ran. Climbed up the stairs of that construction site.
He charged after me, almost caught me, but then he…
tripped.” Niko rubs his eyes, an expression of disbelief settling in.
“He fell and… There was this rebar, sticking out from an unfinished column. It went straight through him. By the time I reached him, he was dead.”
Oh my god… “No way.”
Niko nods, looking a bit unsure of himself for the first time ever. “Yes. I’m not making this up. It’s really what happened. It was all an accident, and I just took the credit for it so I wouldn’t lose face.”
I’m stunned. Fuck. This is crazy, the biggest hoax ever! But also, it’s fucking ingenious.
Worry knits Niko’s eyebrows together. His hand caresses my cheek, hope swimming in those pretty browns. “If I didn’t get lucky, I might not even be alive today.” He sucks in air through his nostrils. “Tommy. Please, say something…”
I’m speechless. “I’m impressed,” I settle on, because I truly am. “That’s such a genius move.”
The smile happens gradually. The corners of Niko’s lips lift first, then his eyebrows relax, then the rest of his facial muscles follow suit. It’s the most beaming one yet, radiating fondness and acceptance and pride. Fuuuuck, it’s insane, but I think I’m falling in love with this man.
Niko hugs me, and for a moment I forget all about our imminent problems. The world could be ending and I wouldn’t care, not when he holds me like this. Like I am a precious treasure, a god he wants to worship.
Unfortunately, reality charges back in as another explosion pierces the silence.
“We need to go!” Niko says, grabbing my arm.
We run to the back of the shop, where the storage area is. The old lady is there, mostly unharmed. She’s kneeling on the floor, clearing stuff away as if she’s looking for something. When she hears us, she turns to us, shouts something, and waves us over.
“This way!” Niko rushes over. He picks up a box full of beers and discards it to the side, then kneels down next to her and starts tossing away items just like she is.
Confused, I join them. At first, I don’t really see it, but once the last of the boxes are out of the way, there is a tiny hatch on the floor. You wouldn’t know it was there, that’s how smartly it’s hidden, the only telltale being the indentation that serves as a handle.
The woman pokes her fingers inside, and after a click sounds, she pulls up the hatch.
I don’t even wait for an invitation before I hop down the rope ladder, Niko on my heels.
I’ve no idea where this leads. Hell, it could be a trap for all we know.
But it sure as hell beats whatever those four men have in store for us.