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But he slipped his fingers from me, grasped my arm, lifted my hand, and placed a soft kiss on my wrist.
And then he was gone.
TEN
Vasile
“Do you want me to handle it?” Sorin asked.
“You wish,” I said, allowing myself a moment of levity before we entered Familie. “But no. It’s my responsibility.”
Sorin nodded as we made my way to the back room. The restaurant was closed today, and only Clan Petran was present. I stared out at the men assembled, all of their faces familiar, men who had been here before me, some of whom would be here after I was gone. I centered my gaze on one in particular.
“Viktor,” I said, the crowd quieting when I spoke, “is there something you need to tell me?”
Viktor kept his gaze averted, confirming what Sorin had discovered. I waited, and the room went silent, the moment tense and heavy. We all knew why we were here.
“I apologize,” he finally said. “It won’t happen again.”
“What won’t happen again, Viktor?” I asked.
“I won’t sell drugs for the Peruvians again,” he mumbled.
“Why not?” I asked.
“Because the leader of my clan has forbidden it.”
“And you will make amends?” I asked.
“Of course,” Viktor said, nodding. He looked up, his rugged, worn face almost hopeful.
Then he stepped from the crowd and laid his hand atop a table. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a serrated knife. I watched as he pushed down, removing his pinkie and ring finger in one clean slice.
And to his credit, Viktor didn’t cry out. The only hint of any reaction was the flash of pain that crossed his face and the shudder that passed through his body. He then took a handkerchief from his pocket and wrapped it around his bleeding hand, the blood that flowed from his fingers wetting the fabric almost instantly.
“Is that your amends?” I asked, stepping closer to Viktor.
He nodded. “Is it sufficient?” he asked, still hopeful.
“It is not,” I said. Then I plucked the knife from his fingers and slashed it across his throat, stepping out of the path of the blood that spurted from the wound. I watched as he fell to his knees, a gurgling sound emerging from his throat as he groped at the wound, fingers going slick with his blood.
He collapsed completely to the ground, twitching, and I watched until he moved no more.
“That is the only amends for betrayal,” I said, meeting the eye of every man in the room. I saw understanding in some faces, fear in others, but all received the message. Betrayal would not be tolerated.
After a moment, Oleg and Sorin grabbed Viktor and carried him out as the others turned their attention back to me.
“Is there other business that needs to be discussed?” I asked.
No one spoke, so I nodded, and the men broke into their groups. Soon, boisterous laughter and animated conversation filled the room, much like any other day.
It wasn’t though. Viktor had been well liked, and some might take his death hard. And those who didn’t would still be watching, searching for any sign of weakness, any hint of second-guessing.
There would be none, but I needed to stay, make my presence felt, and root out any dissension before it could fester. I moved among the men, congratulating one on the birth of a third son, another on his wedding, gave my condolences to yet another on the loss of cousin in a territorial dispute and reassured him that the perpetrators would be handled. It came naturally enough. I’d watched my father, his father, do much the same thing all my life, and yet I wondered…
I didn’t feel guilty about killing Viktor. It had been necessary, and death, that of others and even my own, was a part of my life I had come to terms with years ago. But I couldn’t help but think of Fawn, of how she would react if she knew what I’d done, what I was.
The thought was something that nagged at the back of my mind. The swine I had taken her from was low, but I doubted he’d ever gotten his hands dirty. But mine were, and they would never be clean. Could I touch her with them again?
