A series of hallways disorient me. I pause in a lobby to check the ground with a flashlight from my pocket. There’s a tiny smear of blood on a doorframe.
I smirk savagely and shove the flashlight back into my pocket.Closer than ever.
The tip of my gun leads the way. The hallway is dark, tinted sepia by the filtered cloudy windows.
A cough breaks the silence. A ragged gasp. And then, a sickening wheeze.
My chest swells with excitement as I round the corner. I point my gun at the only thing in the room: Felix Cardona, wounded.
Hair hangs over his eyes. Sweat drips from his temples. A shaky hand clutches his gut, where blood oozes through his fat fingers.
I narrow my eyes, hiding the triumph crawling its way to the surface.
“Who got you?”
“How the fuck should I know?” He struggles to speak. “Could be any one of you Russian cunts.”
I step slowly into the room, checking the corners. Everything is clear.
I have my shot if I want to take it.
But I want to remember this forever. “It’s the end, Felix. Don’t you want to die with some dignity?”
“That’s where you’re wrong, kid,” he snarls. “This isn’t the end. Not by a fucking long shot. My boys are gonna avenge me.”
“You know Ricky reached out to me about this, right?” I retort, watching with savage satisfaction as Cardona’s eyes widen in surprise. “And the rest of the Citta Nostra is already turning on you. You’re done.”
He huffs with frustration but makes no move to run. Blood weeps through his fingers. His silence is staggering. Finally, he gathers enough strength to cough out his response.
“They’ll get you too. One day.”
“One day. But not today.”
“You might kill me, Pavel. You might even get to put your brat on the throne of the Citta Nostra.” He smiles smugly. “But one day, someone else is gonna do to you what you’re about to do to me.”
“I don’t give a fuck about that, you piece of shit.”
“Yeah, thought you’d say that.” His hand reaches behind him, but I’m faster.
The trigger squeezes. A flash. A thunder. Smell of smoke.
Felix’s body slumps to the ground. His hand falls to the side, revealing the gun he never got a chance to fire. His eyes stay open as life fades from them. A rivulet of blood oozes from the wound on his forehead.
I shot him in the same spot that he shot Zoya.
Justice.For Zoya.For Kiril.
I bow my head.For Liya.
Minutes later, I’m standing in the warehouse with Kostya and my brigadiers. I instruct them to collect Cardona’s body and put it in a freezer. The other families will want to see that the job is complete, and I need to leave before I can second guess what I’m doing.
With my heart thudding in my throat, I drive back to Coney Island alone. I call Liya as soon as I hit the highway.
Please. I press my phone to my ear, listening to the line trill repeatedly.Pick up. I have good news. We don’t have to run anymore. You don’t have to run anymore
I weave through traffic as I crouch toward the wheel.We’re free.
Liya’s kiss aside, nothing could come close to feeling as sweet as this victory. Felix is dead. Whatever caporegimes remain won’t be a problem any longer. If they flip loyalties to another family, they might be able to keep their heads.