“The police won’t be able to do anything,” he assures me. “Marina is outside their bounds, beyond their abilities. If they interfere, it will only complicate things.”
“How?”
He raises his eyebrows as though he’s shocked that I would even ask.
“Are you trying to protect her?” I ask, the idea hitting me all at once.
I don’t know why I decide to go there. It’s stupid, really, considering I know where he stands with Marina. At least I think I do.
“Protect her?” he growls in disgust. “You must be joking.”
“Why else wouldn’t you want the cops involved? They have resources.”
“All their resources won’t make a single bit of difference, Jessa. I have more. And even if I didn’t, it changes nothing.”
“How does it change nothing? You’d have help. You’d have the law on your side. You’d, well, you’d—”
A few of my neighbors have gathered around now, looking up at the building in various shades of shock and awe. Anton pulls me away from the crowd so no one will overhear us.
“What do you think the cops will do if they get involved?” he hisses. “I’m talking best case scenario.”
“Arrest her?”
“Okay, fine. Say they do. She can easily make bail. We’ve already established she’s got people on the inside who are loyal to her. Say some prosecutor is stupid enough to resist bribes and threats. There would be a court case. She’d drag it out. The whole process could take months, maybe years. Do you really want to go through all that trouble and risk letting her walk in the end?” He tilts his head to the side to study me. “If you trust me, then trust that I will take care of Marina. I’ll give her the end she deserves.”
I hesitate, unable to express what I’m feeling.
“What is it?” he presses. “Tell me.”
I bite down on my resolve. “I don’t want you incriminating yourself. Staining your hands for me.”
He sighs. “I’ve got news for you, Jessa: my hands are plenty stained already. If we’re doing this, if we’re going to make this work, you’ll have to wrap your head around the reality of this life. It’s brutal and violent.”
I take a deep breath and Anton steers me down the street, away from the building and the throng of spectators who are watching the firemen race into the building.
From what I can tell, all of my neighbors are accounted for. It seems no one was hurt.
We’re halfway to the car when I spot Chris. He takes one look and then sprints towards me. We embrace and he lifts me off the ground.
“Thank fuck,” he gasps. “I was so scared.”
Only when we break apart does he notice Anton standing there beside me. His expression falls visibly, but he does a good job of salvaging it.
“I’m okay,” I assure him. “We weren’t inside when it happened.”
“When what happened?”
I glance at Anton. His expression is aggressively neutral. There’s no sign there of whether I should spill details or not, but I’m tired of lying to Chris. “Marina.”
“Are you serious?” He shakes his head and then his eyes narrow. “The woman has to be stopped.”
“I’m working on it,” Anton says.
“Maybe you should try a little harder,” Chris snaps at him. “Because this isn’t the first attempt your wife has made on Jessa’s life.”
Anton takes a step forward and I feel the air turn cold between them. “Rest assured, I’ve got this handled.”
“Doesn’t seem like it,” Chris retorts, refusing to back down like he should. “Because Jessa almost walked into a building that was set to explode.”