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That seems to break the spell. Lanzo starts barking orders. “Gareth, Ford, Evander, take care of the body. Carmine, I’m going to need your family’s physician, please. Tell him to bring all the drugs.”
“I hate body duty,” Gareth says with a sigh.
“Cheer up, could be worse.” Ford punches his arm. “You could be stuck cleaning up Lanzo’s corpse instead. Or maybe you could be the one with a bullet hole.”
“Fair point.” Gareth bends over to move the Russian. “Little help?”
Evander and Ford join him.
Carmine helps me lead Lanzo away. I angle us toward the side gate. I don’t want to go back inside. I don’t want to face Grandpop’s body again. I’ll have to do that sooner or later, but right now, I need to process.
“We’ll deal with your grandfather,” Carmine says, speaking calmly, exuding a comforting competence as he nods at me. “The official way. Burian gets thrown in a deep hole and forgotten. But your grandfather will be treated with all the respect owed, I promise.”
That makes me feel marginally better. Grandpop doesn’t deserve to be forgotten, and so long as I’m alive, he won’t be.
“He saved me,” I mumble, barely able to imagine a life beyond this moment. If it weren’t for Lanzo, I would’ve crumbled into ashes already. “He grabbed Burian’s gun. Tried to pull it away.”
Lanzo and Carmine exchange a look. “Brave man,” Lanzo says. “Very brave man.”
I cry as Carmine helps us into his car. I give the house one last backwards glance, and it looks strange, like I’ve never seen it before. Like I’ve become a stranger in the short time since I’ve been away.
It’s the last time I’ll ever see it.
The thought hits me with a sudden, horrible clarity.
I’m finished with this house.
My old life is in there. So much time spent in that place with Grandpop. Taking care of him, making his life as comfortable as possible. He won’t ever get the last days I wanted for him. Life doesn’t always work out that way. I hate myself for being too slow, too weak to bring it all together.
But he saved me. He sacrificed himself, trying to help me get away, and I owe him everything.
The least I can do is live a little. Like he always told me to.
I sit in the back seat with Lanzo, a towel pressed over his wound. He stares at me, never taking his eyes away, as Carmine drives fast toward his mansion, talking on the phone. Giving commands to his men, some to help the Atlas guys dispose of the body, some to clean up the scene at the house, some to make sure the doctor’s ready for Lanzo.
“You’re going to be okay,” I say, kissing his neck, his chin. “I swear, you’ll be okay.”
“You’re right, I will be.” He’s staring at me. Not taking his eyes away, like he’s afraid that if he stops looking, I’ll disappear.
But I’m not going anywhere.
“You know how you asked me to move in?” I ask, blinking to keep the tears away.
“The offer still stands.”
“Good, because I’m taking you up on it.”
“I love you.” He touches my cheek with the fingers not stained by his own blood. “I love you more than I ever dreamed I could love.”
“I love you too,” I whisper, kissing him softly. “You’ll be okay.”
He leans his head back, his eyes fluttering. “You know, I’ve never lived with a woman before.” He smiles. “I think I’m going to like it.”
Chapter44
Lanzo
Six Months Later
