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“I’m not sure you’re ready to hear that yet. It can be a shock that takes a while to…”
“How long?”
“Two months. It’s April sixteenth.”
Two months? The idea is insane. I can’t have been unconscious. I remember getting shot. It comes back to me. I got shot and then I fell asleep and now two months have passed? “Where’s Kelly?”
“I’ve no idea. Wherever you left her, I’m guessing. I’ve not heard from her since then. Wasn’t she supposed to be hiding out?”
I told her to hide. I told her not to come to the States. Is she still in Italy? Doesn’t she care about what’s happened to me for the last two months?
My phone was off. I remember. I turned it off to do the job. “You didn’t call her?” I ask.
“You said she was in hiding. It was one of the last things you said to me when you went under. I didn’t think you’d want me even trying to contact her.”
“So she doesn’t know if I’m dead or alive, right?”
“I guess not.”
“Get me a phone.”
“On it.”
He leaves the room. I look around me. I know this place. Where is it? I sit up again, groggy as hell. From the hallway I hear a sound that makes the blood turn to ice in my veins. It’s a gunshot.
The door swings open and Edward staggers in, clutching his stomach. “Shot me,” he says, crashing into the side of my bed. “Can’t believe the son of a bitch shot me.”
His face turns white as he slides down to the ground. His face smacks the tiles and blood begins to pool out from under him.
I look up in time to see Don Colombo standing in the doorway, gun in his hand, the barrel still smoking.
“Had to wait a long time for you to wake up,” he says, walking in and shutting the door behind him, turning the lock with a click. “Where would the fun be in killing you when you’re asleep? I want to look you in the eyes when you die. I want the last thing you see to be my smiling face. I’ve waited patiently for you to wake up. Finally, here you are and I get my revenge. I get to execute you. Diego failed to bring you to me and he paid the price for his failure but I will not miss. I will not be reasoned with. I win, Ricardo. I always win.”
The whole time he’s talking, I’m thinking hard. Is there a weapon nearby? Can I jump him? I’m not sure I can trust my legs yet but I can’t just sit here and let him shoot me like he did the doc.
“Why not do it like a man?” I ask, nodding toward the gun. “You want to take me on?”
He laughs. “You think you’re strong enough to fight me man on man? You’ve been on your back for two months, your muscles wasting away. You want to take me on?” He puts the gun on the floor. “Your arrogance will be your undoing. Let’s do this.”
I swing my legs out of bed, hoping they’ll support my weight. I look across at him and he’s already coming for me, fist flying through the air. I duck back, pushing his elbow with my hand, sending him off balance. He roars and turns, lashing out with his foot, catching me on the shin. I stand perfectly still, ignoring the pain as he tries to punch me in the face.
Grabbing his hand, I spin him away from me. My strength is fading but I’m never going to quit. Not now. Not with Kelly out there waiting for me.
“You always were a pussy,” I tell him, hoping to enrage him more. He scowls back at me, saying nothing, as I step back, avoiding the doc’s body on the floor.
He jumps at me, fists flying. I try to fight them off but he manages to get a couple of solid blows into the bandage on my midriff. The pain lances through me and I stagger.
“Time to die now,” he says, punching me again and again. I step back once more, tripping over the doc. I fall to the ground and as I do, Don Colombo stands over me.
“I told you I win,” he sneers, reaching into his jacket and pulling out a knife. He points the blade toward me. “Now I’m going to plunge this into your chest and eat your fucking heart.”
There’s a movement at my feet. I look down and so does Don Colombo, realizing what’s happening too late.
The doc isn’t dead. This whole time he’s been crawling toward the gun and he’s got his hand on it at last. He turns, looking up at Don Colombo. “You lose,” he says as he pulls the trigger.
There’s an explosion of noise and Don Colombo’s face just isn’t there anymore. The rest of his body falls to the floor. I can hear voices approaching out in the corridor though the sound is muffled after the loudness of the gunshot. I’m guessing the cops are on their way. It’ll be an interesting mess for them to sort out.
The doc’s wincing as he rolls onto his back. “Once again I save your life,” he says, letting the gun fall back to the floor. “I should be getting hazard pay for all the shit I put up with.” He winces, pressing his hands to the gunshot wound.
