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“No, you don’t. You never wanted anything recorded in your shop where you do your dirt.” I called his bluff.
Brazino stood taller. “I’m a Don of my family. Kill me, and the commission will annihilate you and your family.”
I shot his stomach, and he yelled in pain. “Motherfucker you blew up my home and took St. James out. You think I give a fuck about the commission when you broke all of their rules in the first place.” I pointed the gun at his head.
With one hand covering his stomach and the other flailing for my mercy. “Wait...wait...it wasn’t just my idea.”
I shot him in the groin, and he fell to his knees near the picture window. “Who else ordered the hit? I can keep shooting you until you slowly die or take you out of your misery. Tell me now.”
He cried. “I swear on my mother’s grave, I’ll tell you if you let me live.”
I lowered my gun, and he sighed in relief. “Tell me.”
“Brocco.” He looked up at me, his pained gaze unflinching. “Your brother ordered the hit.”
“No!” I jerked him up and placed my gun under his chin. “Don’t fucking lie again.”
“I’m not. He swore as the new Don, I could have Harlem, and the DeLucas would protect me.”
“You were wrong.” I shoved him with such force that the big man fell through the glass, and I crossed over and emptied my gun into Paulie Brazino. I jumped into the car, and we sped off.
Unseeing, I stared out the front window as we headed to Jersey.
“Where are we going?” She finally asked when we passed the sign welcoming us to Delaware.
“Virginia Beach. I have a house there. We can hole up there until we figure our next stop.”
“Will they come after us?”
“The police will be looking for us. To question me about the explosion at my home and probably for the murder of Brazino and his men. Depending on what Brocco told the commission and Enzo, the DeLucas may be after us, and we won’t have the protection of the commission or my family.”
“Brocco?” Her voice trembled.
I looked at her and calmly explained, “He ordered the hit on us and Xavier. Brazino told me that he didn’t work alone.”
Storm’s hazel eyes widened before she whispered, “You believe him?”
“People become truthful when facing death. Confession is their last hope of survival.”
She shook her head in disbelief. “Why would Brocco do that?”
“He resented that my father and Enzo chose me as the next Don. He felt betrayed, and the big brother who once loved me has hated me ever since.” I couldn’t feel anything. Not a motherfucking thing. I wished I could feel this numbness...this emptiness forever, because I know once reality resurfaces and my adrenaline slows down, the pain of loss and betrayal will be unimaginable. For once, I understood the desire for mind-numbing drugs, and I wanted desperately to imbibe.
She grabbed my hand and held it tightly. “I’m here. I won’t ever betray you.”
“For how long?”
Storm lifted my hand to kiss my palm. “Until death do us part.”
When I looked into her eyes, I saw no doubt or uncertainty. Storm would ride to the end of the Earth and back with me as she once promised yesterday during our vows. Although I hadn’t quite regained her heart, the sun peeked from around the cloud when she kissed my palm.
THREE HOURS LATER, we drove into the private garage of my beach house in Virginia Beach. A safe house where we could stay hidden and out of sight, while we rested and decided our next steps. She leaned on my shoulder as I opened the door from the garage into the kitchen. We were a sight for anyone who saw us. Her clothes were too big. Our eyes were puffy from the tears and shock, and we were unkempt. I opened the door to the brightly lit kitchen and made her stay at the door while I did a quick search of the three-bedroom space for bombs or people waiting to kill us. I hadn’t told anyone about this house, but I had used it as an Airbnb and kept the place stocked and ready for guests.
I went back to the garage door and pulled Storm in. I immediately hurried to the Master bath and started running bath water in the jacuzzi tub. We needed to soak and rest. Our best thoughts wouldn’t happen as long as we were zombies. She went into the kitchen and was pleasantly surprised to see that I had water bottles and soda in the frig and staples like chips, popcorn, crackers, tomato sauce, noodles, Kraft mac and cheese, and can veggies and fruits in the pantry. “If you’re hungry, I can cook. Maybe some comfort food.”
I held my arms to her, and she rushed back to me. “Let’s just order something. We need to rest.”
She shrugged. “Guess I was trying to make us normal.”
