My shoulders shake as I intake quick and sharp gasps of air through my nose. A few more bullets explode outside the room. Cappodamo stumbles backward, releasing his grip on Rocco’s neck. His gun is still pointed at me, his hand unwavering even in the face of imminent death. Rocco rolls away, his hand still pressed to his side. He flounders around on the concrete slab floor, gasping for air. “You think they won’t find you back here?” he rasps. “They will. They always do. You of all people should know that, Cap. The Russians aren’t walking away. Not tonight.”
“That’s right, Cap.” A gunshot rings out. and Cappodamo falls to the floor, face-first, yelping in agony. A tall, gangly man, dressed in black fatigues, appears in the doorway, a malicious smile on his face. “Did you think I’d forgotten about you?”
“Viktor.” Cappodamo rolls to his side, glaring up at the man. “Are you that hard up for business that you need to take me out? I’m disappointed. I thought you liked the competition.”
“Oh. I do,” The man, Viktor, says in a heavy Russian accent. He stands aside. “But not everyone thinks you’re worthy.”
Nico slips into the room, walking around Viktor. “Well, happy fucking New Year, Cap. Tell me, was this the party you had in mind? Was there enough action for you? Or should we really blow shit up?”
Cappodamo laughs, a low, dry rumbling sound that makes my skin crawl. “Shooting me in the foot. What a safe move by the man who’s rumored to have never taken a shot at another man. Did it feel good to pull that trigger, Nico? Do you feel like a badass now for shooting me? Like you can run your fucking family now without Daddy and Grandpa calling out the plays for you?” He leans back against the cement wall, his hand still on the trigger of the gun pointed at me. “Your father…both of your fathers…fucked me.” He waves the gun at Nico. “I’ve got one shot, Salesi. Should I blow the head off your pretty little girlfriend? Or should I take you out and give one of the other capos a chance to take control since neither you nor your father know the first thing about how to run your organization?”
Nico creeps closer, not once averting his eyes from Cappodamo’s pinched face. “I don’t know, Cap. Look at yourself. You can barely keep your own head above water. Is it any wonder why we didn’t want to do business with you? You skimmed hundreds of thousands, you stole from your own suppliers, and you laced your shit with chemicals so you could make it on the cheap.”
“You don’t know the first thing about my business, you little bastard. And don’t think this ends tonight. There will be payback. Trust me on that. And Princess won’t fare so well next time around.”
“There won’t be a fucking next time!” A gun shot fires up at the ceiling, and I flinch at the loud crack.
“Max! What the fuck are you doing? You’re supposed to be standing watch, for fuck’s sake!”
Cappodamo chuckles and slithers around Nico. “You fucking idiots can’t get out of your own way. It wouldn’t be any fun to shoot you. I’m having too good of a time watching this shit show. And this next part gets even better.” He points the gun at me and my eyes widen. “Say goodnight, Princess.”
A resounding crack explodes just beyond my ear, and I shoot my legs upward, my full weight forcing the chair against the wall behind me. My head smacks hard against the cold concrete before the chair collapses onto the damp floor.
Somewhere in the depths of my foggy mind, I hear more gunshots. They’re muffled, just like the sound of my own screams. Or maybe other people are screaming. Since my ears refuse to function, I crack open my eyes from my horizontal position on the scratchy floor. There are a lot of blotches of color in my line of sight, but I can’t make out a single one. Bodies standing, bodies lying on the ground. I can’t tell who’s who. I can’t see Nico. I can’t find Max.
My eyes drift closed. The heavy and incessant pounding between my temples drown out the distant sounds until the peaceful darkness swallows me whole.