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In a sleepy voice, she said, “Okay,” and then she was fully asleep. I stayed with her until Edric called me out to conference with him.
“Let’s make it quick; I don’t want to leave her too long.”
“It’s Oleg; he’s been in contact and wants to meet with you as soon as possible.”
“Is this about Lucas? He is not my priority, and I don’t have the energy to entertain the thought of ending his life. The sister he claimed to love is fighting for her life while he sits in a cell licking his wounds.”
“What do you mean? I thought she was getting better.”
“She’s still not fully awake, and she’s pregnant; it’s very early, but we don’t know if the baby will even make it with all the trauma she’s suffered.”
“Wow! A baby? Congratulations to you and Sabina; it’s a miracle.”
“Yeah, it is, and to think this very topic is what we argued about before I sent her away, and then she got taken.”
“It’s going to be alright; it has to be. Listen, I will meet with Oleg and then return to bring you up to speed.”
“No, it has to be me. I was hoping you could go in there and sit with Sabina. Then, if she wakes up when I’m gone, tell her nothing, but I love her and will be back soon.”
“I will. Don’t worry.”
“Yeah, it’s become the only thing I do lately.”
I drove alone to the safe house where Lucas was and where Oleg wanted to meet. I went down a long dirt road until a house came into view. I parked the truck and stepped out to be greeted by four armed guards who searched me for weapons and allowed me to enter the house. Oleg stood in the entryway and extended his hand for me to take. Once I did, he pulled me into a hug and whispered a phrase to me in Russian, which he translated as, “We’ve spilled blood as soldiers, which now makes us brothers.”
What could I say to that? But thank you. We sat in the living room, and he poured me a double vodka. He raised the glass into the air and toasted us both in Russian. “So, why am I here, Oleg?” I said in a weary voice because I was tired, and all I wanted was to rewind time and go back to the island where I was happy with Sabina, preparing to marry her.
“I asked you here because we have some matters to discuss before I return to New York. If it weren’t for Valentin sanctioning this mission, I would not be here, nor would our men who successfully extracted Lucas Santoro. What will be new to you is that Gio Costanza now works for us, a first, but we hope with his pledged allegiance to our family, more will follow and see our way is the only way to thrive in business and be successful in our world without getting themselves killed.”
“Gio? He really defected?” I questioned.
“Yes, and it’s my understanding that Sabina tried to reason with her brother, and when that proved to be unsuccessful, it was Gio who attempted to talk Lucas down. Gio challenged Lucas, and the man snapped and called his bluff. The shots we heard were Lucas emptying the magazine and reserving one bullet in the chamber for Gio. However, Sabina, a fearless hero, puts herself in front of the bullet to save Gio. It took incredible bravery, a selfless act, to save someone who tried to save her first. Did you know that?”
Of course, she was selfless in her safety and tried to save another without thought or consequence. Sabina told me she blamed herself and wanted no further blood spilled. This is why she fought for her brother’s life and freedom. No one could predict Lucas breaking the way he did, especially Sabina, who held on to hope that she could save her brother.
“No, I did not know, but knowing how compassionate Sabina is makes sense.”
“I’m sorry for being insensitive, but the truth is that Gio switched sides from the moment he began working with your man, Edric, on the surveillance. For years, Gio has been a loyal soldier, never fearing death, and he faced it more than once, working beside Lucas. Gio said he never approved of Lucas taking Sabina from the island and tried vainly to change his mind. Still, Lucas was determined to reconcile with his sister and felt he couldn’t do that anywhere other than the family home in Italy.”
“Wow, you’ve been busy learning all the facts, right?”
“It’s my job, and now what to do about her brother. He’s been asking for her when he’s lucid, but most of the time, he’s delusional with erratic thoughts and gibberish talk. It would take one bullet, and we could put this behind us, but Valentin has instructed me to turn his fate over to you. We are out of time, Bourne; decide if today is the day Lucas Santoro dies. After that, I will return to New York, and Gio will take over as the head of the Santoro Family under our rule and guidance.” he then reached behind his back and pulled out a gun, handing it to me. “Choose now, Bourne, or we will.”
“Where is he?”
“Downstairs,”
I took a breath and followed the long staircase to the bottom floor. It wasn’t Lucas's kill basement in his home; no, this room was comfortable with a living room and a bed to sleep on. It had no windows and nowhere to run. It was a prison within a prison, just like Sabina’s room with no light. “I must say this is quite a fitting ending for you, don’t you think?” I said as I walked inside and saw Lucas sitting on the bed.
“Ahh, my sister’s kidnapper finally graces us with his presence. You know I will get her back and kill anyone who tries to stop me.”
“There you are; for a minute there, I may have believed that the crazy act was real, but you couldn’t help yourself, could you, Lucas? You can’t stand knowing that one of your most loyal men has defected and left you alone to clean up your mess.”
“Fuck you, Bourne and Gio too. It’s a shame that my sister jumped in the way of preventing his death. Next time that will not happen.”
If I ever wanted this vicious cycle of betrayal and murder to end, I knew what I would have to do to make it right; I only prayed that Sabina would forgive me for the decision I had to make today. If it weren’t me, then it would be Oleg, and he would make sure that Lucas would die from a slow and punishing death. I would choose the easier fate for him; even if I wanted more, I couldn’t do that to her. He was almost laughing at me as if he won, and I would walk away with my tail tucked between my legs and live another day, but Lucas didn’t know how wrong he was.
“Your family’s reign of terror is over because I am ending it today. You may have believed that you avenged your mother and sister by killing your father, but you only created more pain for Sabina. You did not deserve Sabina’s mercy, but after all that she had been through, she fought for you and wanted you to get a free pass to live your life, but you couldn't do it. You had to play the conquering hero and prove you were a big man, right? Taking Sabina proved one thing,” I continued to taunt him, which only provoked him more, and he charged off the bed to hit me, but I stopped him by punching him where Gio had shot him after Sabina was wounded. He went down and shrieked in pain. I picked him up by the collar and shoved him back.
