AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I laugh. “Believe me, I know what it’s like to hate everyone. I had to spend twenty-five years in a concrete building with a bunch of morons. It made me realize how stupid I was in my twenties to end up in a place like that.”
“I’m sure you fit right in,” he replies with a punchable grin.
“Not really, but you would’ve. Maybe you can confess to Leo’s murder once all this is over. We’ll take turns at being the bigshot Bratva boss.”
“Cute, but I’m not ready to give up my position. I’m spoiled.”
“Spoiled, and yet heartbroken. It’s sad to see.”
He scoffs. “I have as many women as I want. I just don’t want to settle down. That’s reasonable for a man with so many options.”
“I already know why you’re bitter about relationships, Damien. You don’t need to lie to me.”
He sighs, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms.
The miles go by slower when we’re not talking, so we delve back into conversation again soon after. Nothing too personal, but we need to catch up after all these years apart. There’s so much about the new world I just don’t understand, and Damien is the only man I trust to explain it all to me.
The rest of the trip is quick, and at ten before ten, we arrive in Salt Lake City to kill Leo.
26
Avraam
Icheck the magazine for the hundredth time as we idle outside the club that Leo frequents. It’s broad daylight, but we’re masked by the complete absence of cameras and police. Leo doesn’t want them here. We already know that because every single detail of this location has been checked.
We know the traffic, we know the shops and the people, and most of all, we know that the minute the clock hits ten, Leo is going to walk out of that club with booze in his blood and a fresh bullet hole in the center of his skull.
“I’m moving to the front,” Damien says, undoing his seatbelt and clambering forward.
I remain in the back seat, window cracked in preparation for Leo’s arrival. I can smell the road outside, the dust and oil on the asphalt, and it reminds me of when I killed Leo’s brother.
This time is different, but it’s the same. The deafening pop of a pistol, the terror in his eyes right before he falls. Maybe this time, he won’t have time to consider that he’s dying at all. It only takes one bullet to kill a man.
“Five minutes,” Damien mutters, checking his watch. “But sometimes he comes a minute early. Better keep an eye out.”
“You don’t have to tell me,” I reply, gripping my gun harder. This guy is the one person standing between me and burying my past for good. It’s time to move on, and I’m more than ready for it.
With every second that goes by, the noose of fate tightens around Leo’s neck. He’s unaware, completely oblivious to what’s about to happen, but in just a few more minutes, his life is going to end.
It makes me wonder how my own will end, how I will be reclaimed by the earth. We all have to go at some point, but the way we go always seems so important to us. In the end, it doesn’t matter. None of this matters.
And yet, it’s always on my mind. Kimberly is the only relief I get from thinking about death.
But she’s not here right now.
And Leo is.
The side door to the club opens, and time slows down. I can practically see the light particles coming down from the sky and bouncing off Leo’s sunglasses. The air blows slightly to the left. His hair moves with it.
My finger squeezes the trigger, hot metal that’s slick with sweat. I’m the first one to get a shot off at him, but Damien follows a fraction of a second later. It feels like hours.
I know I’ve hit Leo, but someone else goes down with him. Three of his guards, all jumping in different directions, splattering like paint thrown at a wall.
One of them gets hit, but we’re aiming for Leo.
He’s the target.
He must die.
