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“I’m Catholic,” I smirk at him, “I recant for sins. And I have already found my salvation…my heaven is here on Earth.”
Sal and Carlo each execute another man, the number of Armenians left in this room is quickly diminishing.
The knife that has been rolling in my palm is now firmly gripped by my fist. Lifting it, I quickly plunge the blade through the flesh just above Razmik’s knee. He screams out in pain as I twist the blade and grind against the bone.
His brow furrows and his eyes narrow as he grimaces in pain.
“It doesn’t have to be like this,” I slowly pull the blade out of the wound as Razmik’s breathing becomes more rapid.
Sal executes another man, leaving just the three of us and Razmik in this basement.
My eyes fixed on his, I drive my knife through the skin above his other knee. It elicits a similar scream from the first.
“I just want Avalie,” I lean into Razmik and press down on the handle of the blade, “I want to know where she is. And I want to know why the Armenians and Yakuza are working together to take her.”
Sliding the knife from his thigh, I lift my hand and quickly shove it just above the previous wound. Sweat is beading at his hairline, as he grits his teeth and breathes through the pain.
“Razmik,” I grab his chin in my hand, “You should know that I am really fucking good at my job. This can continue for hours, as my knife continues to carve through your flesh around anything that would prove to be fatal.”
Withdrawing the blade yet again, I release my grip on his chin and lift my arm preparing to force the blade through his skin again.
“Wait,” he pleas.
Lowering my arm, I rest it on my thigh and begin to palm the handle of the knife again.
“Talk,” I demand.
Sweat drips down his forehead as he begins to sputter between his heavy breathing, “She is the key. She is the reason for the truce. She is going to bring the two families together, making them the most powerful in the city.”
“She’s a poor girl from the Bronx,” I shake my head at him, “How in the world could she be the thing to bring these two families together.”
“She…is…the two families.”
“What the fuck are you talking about,” I shove the blade of the knife firmly against his throat, as Sal and Carlo quickly close their distance to me.
“Avalie is Gregorian…and Tanaka,” Razmik struggles to push out the words.
“Bullshit,” Sal refutes his claim.
“I’ve carried this secret for twenty-three years. I assure you, it is not bullshit.”
Sitting back, I pull my blade from his neck as he begins to spew the secret that he has been hiding from his own family.
“I’m not afraid of you killing me,” Razmik states, “Because I have been waiting for the family to come for me since they found out about her. It was only going to be a matter of time before they found out how her mother disappeared.”
ChapterThirty-Seven
Avalie
The car ride is absolutely silent with the exception of the tires rolling across the pavement. Karyan’s focus rotates between her buzzing cell phone and gazing out the car window at the city.
I know I was just a child when she left, but woman sitting in the back of this car with me is nothing like the mother I remember. She looks like her, but that is all.
My mom was warm and caring. She never threatened me. She was the woman that would place herself between me and danger, constantly taking the punishments Frank wanted to dole out on me. I remember a woman who packed my lunches and held my hand as she walked me to school every day.
I remember love. Not just small glimpses of it, but all of it. Thinking of my mother makes me feel warm and wanted. Looking at this woman, I feel nothing but her eerie coldness and distain. There is no way that this woman ever cared for me a day in her life.
Nothing makes sense. She hasn’t seen me in over a decade, yet she is colder to me than a stranger on the subway. It almost feels as though she is actively avoiding making eye contact or conversation with me.
