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Except it wouldn’t be, because a mafia family is like a bee hive. It doesn’t die when you kill the queen. Instead, a dozen queens are created to replace her. Morgan has generals that will take his place when he’s gone, and even though they might scrimmage for superiority, they’re all professionals. One of them will win out, and then we’ll be back where we started.
No, I have to ruin him, ruin the Speare family entire, before going in for the kill.
I release Morgan and step back. Without me to hold him up, he crumples to the floor, dazed and bloody-mouthed. Iris, who managed to get on top of Paul, leans down to whisper something in his ear. I almost look away, as if I’m witnessing something intimate. Then she pulls back and steps off of him with a swing of her powerful leg. Paul stays down. Like many men before him, maybe he decided fighting Iris wasn’t worth it. Or maybe whatever she whispered in his ear convinced him that staying on the ground was the best thing for his health.
Iris straightens her blouse and sleeves and tosses back her white hair. “Was that entirely necessary?” she asks, exasperated.
“I thought so.”
She shakes her head. “I’m not sure what’s gotten into you, but we’d better get home or you’ll start a bar fight next.”
I touch my ear where Morgan’s fist caught me. A single drop of blood smears over my fingers. “I think he can take another hit.”
Iris grips my bicep. “Let’s go.” At the door she turns to salute the two men on the floor. “Next time, gentlemen.”
As the door closes, I see Paul hold up a hand in a defeated wave.
CHAPTER 10
Clara
I’ve decided it’s not worth it to get out of bed. Not if it means I’m going to be forced into another intimidation tactic or vicious mind game. I don’t even want to draw. Instead, I burrow under the plush comforter, hide my face in my pillow, and try desperately to shut out the world.
I get to enjoy about ten minutes of that before I hear a quiet rattle at my door.
For a few seconds I just listen, wondering if it’s Thomas coming back to threaten me some more. But no, whoever’s outside is messing with the door knob. I sit up just as it viciously turns and Raleigh bursts into the room.
I jump out of bed. “What are you-”
“No time,” she snaps. “Thomas just left and Iris went with him. I’m driving you to the nearest bus stop and you’re getting the hell out of here.”
I’m so relieved I don’t even think about it. I run to her and fling my arms around her shoulders. She stiffens against me, but before I can pull away, she hugs me fiercely right back. Too soon, she releases me and steps away.
“Come on, we need to hurry.”
She leads me into the now-familiar hallway and toward the garage. At every corner we slow and listen, but we don’t see anyone in our way. Raleigh ducks into the garage first, then when she’s sure it’s clear, waves me inside. She leads me to a candy apple red Bentley in the corner and opens the trunk. The license plate, surrounded by rhinestones, says “STOLEN”.
“Just until we get out the gates,” she clarifies when I hesitate.
Swallowing, I duck inside and fold my legs into my chest. Raleigh slams the hood over me, and I’m entombed in darkness and silence. The car shifts when Raleigh opens her door and gets inside, and then the engine roars to life all around me. I close my eyes, pretending as hard as I can that I’m not trapped in a space that’s far too small and smells like gasoline. It’s too much like waking up last night, lost and drowning in smoke.
The car rolls over gravel, and I wonder if it’s my own imagination that Raleigh is driving a little too fast. When we were friends, the two of us were too young to have driver’s licenses, and I still don’t have one. Thinking of Raleigh behind the wheel of a luxury car is like imagining a cat on a pogo stick.
I have to brace myself to keep from rolling into the wall of the trunk when the car stops abruptly. Raleigh calls to whoever is on watch at the gate, her tone sweet as sugar. “Let me out for an hour? I have to buy new panties, can you believe it? Lost all mine in the fire!”
A man’s voice stammers an affirmative, and Raleigh honks the horn in thanks. “Don’t tell my brother, yeah? It’s soooo embarrassing.”
Then she peels out of the gates, and I have to fight not to squeal in terror.
Every turn of the road is a violent roll. Never mind feeling trapped in the small darkness, I’m starting to feel seasick. Luckily, Raleigh slows after a few minutes. I count the seconds as the car parks and the engine turns off. When she opens the hood above me, the light blinds me.
“Sorry,” Raleigh says, helping me stumble out. “You okay?”
Once I blink my eyes back to normalcy and take a breath of fresh air, I nod. We’re parked along the street at the base of the hill, the front gates of the neighborhood a little ways down the road. I can’t see the estate above us through the carefully manicured trees lining the road, but we’re still too close for me to relax. Raleigh climbs back into the driver’s seat, and I slide into the passenger side, still feeling a little nauseous.
“Here, I’ve got this for you,” Raleigh says, reaching behind the seat and pulling out a denim daypack. “I couldn’t find any of your things in the house, but it’s better than nothing.”
I hug the pack to my chest, too choked for a second to speak. My sketchbook is gone, and so is the money I took, and my clothes. I don’t have anything now, except for this bag and whatever’s in it. A bag Raleigh put together for me.
