A familiar voice knocks through my walls. My head snaps in the direction of the door. Only then do I realize that Anatolij crouches before me, his face pale, eyes wide, frightened.
I snap out of the lethargy with two creases on my forehead.
“Breathe, Star,” Dante says, and at the same time, I feel the phone Anatolij presses to my ear.
He squeezes my hand, letting out a shaky breath. “Talk to him. I’ll give you a moment.” He makes sure I have a tight grip on the phone before he marches out of the living room.
“Hey,” I say to Dante as a cool drop falls from my nose to my lips, my face wet with tears. I didn’t realize I was crying.
“You scared me, baby. What happened? Anatolij said he couldn’t get through to you.”
“You knew.” My voice breaks, but the accusation rings clearly. “You knew that he’s my father, and you didn’t tell me.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I should’ve told you, but he wanted to do so himself. I promised not to say anything.”
“Will you be okay?” Anatolij appears in the doorway with three strangers and Lew behind his back. “I have a meeting to attend. It won’t take long. We’ll talk more when I’m done.”
“I’m not going anywhere if that’s what you’re asking.”
A tight nod is his only answer before he leads his guests away, leaving Lew to stand guard outside the living room door. Looks like he doesn’t believe me not to run after all.
“Layla,” Dante says. “How are you feeling?”
I shrug, aware he can’t see it. “Angry. Confused. Sad...”
“Sad?”
A small smile curves my lips. He doesn’t mind my anger. He wouldn’t mind if I screamed or took my frustration and confusion out on him, butsadness? He can’t cope with that. It physically hurts him to know I’m upset.
“I’ll be okay. I just need time. I have so many questions.”
“I’m sure Anatolij will be more than happy to answer them all. He cares about you very much. Let him prove it.”
For the last three weeks, he did his utmost to get to know me, and in that short time, he learned more than Frank did during nineteen years. Anatolij deserves a chance to explain why he wasn’t present in my life. Why he abandoned my mother and me. Why he didn’t fight harder.
“I love you, baby,” Dante says. “I’ll see you very soon.”
The sound of an engine murmuring in the background has me checking the time. It’s two in the afternoon here, which means... “Where are you going at four o’clock in the morning? And how soon issoon?”
A soft chuckle is his first answer. “Good girl. So perceptive. How does fifteen hours sound?”
A full-blown smile stretches my face. “Like the best thing I heard since you told me I’ll be Mrs. Carrow.”
From the corner of my eye, I notice movement in the corridor. Anatolij didn’t lie when he said the meeting wouldn’t take long. I don’t think five minutes have passed yet, but the three strange men are already leaving. One of them looks at me with a small smile. A peculiar feeling passes through me. There’s nothing friendly about his smile.
I don’t have time for a reaction.
I don’t even have time to blink.
He draws a gun, aims it at me, and pulls the trigger. Pain fails to register with me right away while the sound of more gunshots rings in my ears, mixing with Dante’s screams until the phone slips out of my hand.
I double over, pressing my hands against the gaping, bleeding wound on my chest.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Dante
The sound of a gunshot pierces my ears. I’d recognize it everywhere and at any time, whether standing in the same room, a hundred meters away, or listening to it over the phone. I can’t fucking breathe when my conversation with Layla is interrupted by a gun going off in the background. One isolated shot first, then more, closer together.