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But if I don’t, we could all end up dead. Lorenzo will call reinforcements if he hasn’t already, and we’re no match for that kind of firepower. I will die, and Lola will be hunted down in the woods and murdered by my worst enemy.
I swallow hard, tension squeezing my entire body so hard that it feels like my internal organs are all about to simultaneously rupture.
And then, like the flick of a switch, I’m back to my old self again.
I’m calm. I’m cool. And I’ve made up my mind.
I’m going to kill that slimy Pessolano bastard.
26
Jasha
Ipush past the men at the door, walking through no-man’s-land like I own it. I get halfway down the hallway before I see the rifle pointed through the doors on the other end, sandwiched in between like a dog’s tail stuck in the doors to an elevator.
They haven’t seen me. I doubt they can see anything through such a small crack, but I don’t risk continuing the rest of the way. I’m close enough to where Lorenzo can hear me, anyway.
I duck into one of the compartments, leaving the door open like all the rest of them so that I don’t give away my position. If I get caught boxed in like this, I’m going to get my guts scrambled by bullets.
I check my rifle again, this time pulling back the slide all the way to make damn sure there’s a bullet in the chamber. I’d rather tear Lorenzo apart with my bare hands, but a bullet will do in a pinch.
The sound of the rifle draws attention, and I hear voices from the next section of the train.
Well, if they can hear that, they’re definitely going to hear this. “Hey, Lorenzo! Why don’t you come out here and talk this out like a man?”
The silence that follows is oppressive, but it doesn’t last long.
“Is that Nikolai I hear?” Lorenzo calls from beyond the double doors.
I always get mistaken for my brother, but for Lorenzo to do it makes me particularly angry. He should know by now that the Bratva has a new leader. Either he’s so far behind that a time machine wouldn’t even help him, or he’s doing it to annoy me.
“You know who I am, you ugly bastard,” I growl.
He chuckles, then calls through the door again, “Jasha, the little brother. I thought you weren’t allowed to leave the house without your caretaker.”
“You think you’re funny, but in a minute, you’re going to be dead.”
“I thought you were supposed to be the one with the sense of humor. Maybe that was your brother,” he replies.
I roll my eyes. I am the one with the sense of humor, but not when it comes to Lorenzo. The faster I can get his ass sent to heaven, the better. I’m fed up with him and his games, and I want this train.
No, Ineedthis train, and all the precious cargo on board.
“You don’t want to rot in that cabin, do you?” I ask, leaning toward the door. I need to be careful not to poke my head out into the corridor, or it’s likely to get blown off.
“I’m quite comfortable here, actually,” Lorenzo replies.
“Are you? I think we can make a deal that’ll get you out without having to kill any more of your men. How many have already died because of your foolishness? Ten? Twenty?”
“Less than yours,” he replies with palpable irritation. I’m starting to get to him. He knows he’s losing, and he’s trying to bluff that he’s still in control. I doubt his men even believe it. They’ll turn on him if things start to look bad enough.
“We’ll make a deal,” I say, smiling as my plan comes together. “You come out here and talk to me, and I’ll let your men leave unharmed.”
He laughs, but it’s not the deep and confident laughter of a man in a winning position. The cracks in his confidence are widening by the second, and he won’t be able to keep this façade of resilience up for much longer before he shatters.
I’m just glad I can be here to witness it happen.
“Come on,” I urge, talking more to what few men he has left than to him. “Come out and I will spare everyone. You have my word, man to man.”
