17
LEONE
Zoey fusses with my arm as her sister tears out of the parking lot.
“I’m all right.” I reach across her and fasten her seatbelt. “Better.”
“You’re shot!” She reaches for the belt, but I take her hand.
“I’m shot, but your sister is driving like a maniac.” I grit my teeth against the wave of pain that rockets up my shoulder.
“Hey!” Xanadu shouts from the front.
“Leave it on.” I squeeze Zoey’s hand.
“Fine.” She wrinkles her nose, then goes back to feeling for my wound. “What are we going to do about this? I don’t know what to do.”
“Wait, little one.” I use my good hand to pull out my phone and dial a number. When my phone begins to ring, I hear it echoing in the trunk.
Xanadu smirks at me in the rearview mirror. “I told you he’s still breathing.”
“Boss,” Lenny croaks as he answers.
“Get Doc Ray to meet us at the house when we arrive.”
“Boss, I’m trapped somewhere, and I–”
“You’re in the trunk. Make the call.” I hang up and try not to wince as Zoey pulls my shirt down my shoulder and gasps when she sees the bullet hole in me.
“There’s so much blood.” She blanches. “Oh, no. Oh no, no, no.”
“Deep breaths, sis.” Xanny takes a hard left toward the freeway.
“Put your shirt back on.” I hand it to Zoey, even though it has my blood on it. “Xanadu, go north. To my place. It’s right off of–”
“Route 433,” Xanny cuts in. “I know where you live, where you’ve been holding my sister captive.” Her eyes narrow.
“What?” Zoey slips it over her head, then rips off a piece of the bottom and puts it against the wound again. “I’m not his captive!”
“Zoey, this man is a killer. He’s no good. He stole you and kept you just to get at me, to try and make me return some money to his piece of shit boss Davinci!”
Zoey looks at me, her eyes wide. “Is that true?”
“The killer part…” I can’t deny it, so I don’t. “I can tell you about my past later, and I swear I’ll give you every bit of information you want to know. But the rest of it–keeping you captive? No. That’s not true. I kept you safe because I wanted to, because you didn’t deserve what happened to you, because I love you. And you met Nick Davinci yourself. Draw your own conclusions. He’s not my boss. He’s a friend.” I turn and glare right back at Xanadu in the mirror. “Because ofyou, she almost died. She was almost gunned down in Marvin’s shitty club because of whatever game you’re playing!” I say it with more vehemence than I intended, but I can’t help it. When I think about what might’ve happened to Zoey if I hadn’t been there that night …
“What?” Now it’s Xanadu’s turn to look shocked. She turns onto the freeway, heading north, possibly in spite of herself.
“It’s true!” Zoey leans forward. “I was there looking for you, and then this guy came and started shooting. He killed Marvin. He tried to kill me. He made it seem like he’d do it, too, if he could find me, because he didn’t want witnesses.”
“What did he look like?” The earlier fire from Xanadu’s voice is gone as she glances at her sister.
“Dark hair. Kind of greasy. I didn’t get a great look at him. Leather jacket, I think?”
“Carlov.” She sighs and shakes her head. “It has to be.” She swerves a little, straightening up into the lane after she’d drifted.
“Who’s Carlov?” Zoey sits back and keeps yanking at her shirt, finally tearing off a piece at the bottom.
Lenny groans from the trunk. “I think I’m gonna be sick.” His muffled voice comes through.