Chapter 41 Rem #2
Fire explodes in my left thigh as Ari buries a blade deep into my muscle. Lena screams, the sound tinny as shock hits me.
“Sorry, brother,” Ari whispers in my ear, “but I’m not going down alone.
Family till the bloody end, right?” Louder, he says, “Let’s make a deal, Uncle.
You take your daughter and go home. I’ll take my brother and leave the city.
We’ll go our separate ways. The alliance between the Cerretis and Cosenzas ends tonight, and we’ll agree none of this ever happened. ”
Lena speaks before Aldo has a chance. “And what about me, Ari? Am I supposed to pretend this never happened? That you didn’t kill my aunt and destroy my life and take my husband from me? You expect me to just forget?”
I can hear the tears in her voice, but I refuse to look at her. I know if I do, I won’t be able to keep myself from going to her and God knows where Ari’s knife will end up then. Blood seeping through my fingers, I keep a hand pressed to my leg around the blade, trying to slow the flow.
“Quite frankly, little sister,” Ari says, sounding terrifyingly calm, “I don’t give a fuck if you forget or not as long as I never see you again.” He turns to Aldo. “Back the fuck off, old man. Take your soldiers with you. Rem and I will leave. La fine.”
“And if I don’t?” our capo asks.
Ari yanks the knife out of my leg. A fresh wave of agony hits.
My knees buckle but I manage to stay upright, blinking back the black spots flashing in front of my eyes.
I throw an elbow behind me, trying to break Ari’s grip on my neck, but I’m off balance, barely making a dent before he presses his knife to the inside of my thigh.
I hear Lena suck in a knowing breath. The kill strike. A slice to the femoral artery.
“You don’t,” Ari says, “and we all get to watch Rem bleed to death.”
“Asshole,” I spit at him.
“I’m sorry, fratellino. I am. But you knew what would happen when you chose them over your own flesh and blood.”
The stab wound on my leg burns while icy fingers trail up my spine. I risk a glance down and know by the color of my jeans that I’m losing more blood than I’d like, especially if I need to use my legs to get both me and Lena out of here.
Ari isn’t going to give up, no matter how dire circumstances get. We’re down to our last option. A Hail fucking Mary I’m praying works.
I don’t look at Lena. Can’t. If I do, I won’t be able to go through with this. Keeping my attention fixed on Aldo, I give him the nod. The signal he needs to end this once and for all.
Unlike me, Aldo doesn’t hesitate.
His first shot hits me square in the shoulder. It’s close range and his aim is impeccable. The bullet pierces my skin and muscle, through and through, and lodges in my brother’s upper chest.
Through the new wave of pain, I hear Lena screaming.
I know Aldo’s men will get her out. That if things don’t go even more pear-shaped than they already have, we’ll be together at his house just after dawn.
But she doesn’t know that. This “plan” as Aldo and I loosely called it, is one she’d never have agreed with.
So, my little one is screaming in terror as Aldo’s men hold her back and he takes aim at me again.
“Aldo, noooooo. Please. No!” Lena’s cries cover the sound of the next shot, this one skimming my side and hitting Ari in the torso. I can’t tell if it’s fatal to him, but it hurts me like hell.
Ari curses behind me, finally dropping his knife and releasing my neck as he tries to put pressure against the stomach wound. “Fuck you, old man.” That’s all my brother says before twisting away, aiming his gun at the open space behind us.
I’m bleeding in three places, the entire left side of my body on fire and I’m trying to make my way to Lena, but my legs won’t work properly. I stumble, barely catching myself before my face smacks against the ground. I’m inches from concrete when I realize what Ari’s aiming at.
Lena must realize it at the same time.
The next seconds happen in sick slow motion.
Ari is aiming for the gas valves in the unfinished kitchen. He’s squeezing the trigger just as Lena breaks free from Aldo’s men. She comes barreling toward me with a scream, the impact of her body almost making me black out.
At the same time, Ari opens fire into the kitchen. So many shots, all of which seem to hit their mark.
The explosion is instantaneous and fucking massive.
The force of it blows us back. Me, Lena, Ari. We rappel backward like puppets on strings, our limbs flailing before we land with a crash against the unforgiving concrete.
I can’t catch my breath through the agony splitting my chest. Through cracked eyelids I see flames reach the ceiling, black smoke rolling toward us in thick waves.
I can barely lift my head, but I twist and turn, desperately searching for Lena. The instant I find her a horrible sound fills the room. A jarring wail that tears at the air, a sound so raw it can’t possibly be human.
Except it is, because it’s coming from me. My lungs are burning from the inside out and I can’t breathe or move my legs, but I also can’t stop the keening wail that’s making my brain rattle against my skull.
“Rem. Breathe. Rem, you’ve gotta breathe.” I feel someone shake me. A command whispered in my ear. But I can’t stop screaming because Lena is lying on her back, perfectly still, her body twisted in an unnatural way.
Her eyes are closed, her skin darkened by ash. A pool of blood is growing and growing beneath her head.
That relentless dark expense is the last thing I see before blacking out.