Art makes an angry noise in the back of his throat, but I hear a scuffling, and then Tommas’ slow, tired voice.
“We’re alive, Max. Likemi amoresaid, he hasn’t been gentle, but these old bones can take it.” A pause. “You shouldn’t sacrifice yourself or Sasha for us, Max. We’re old, and we’ve had good lives–”
“Shut the fuck up!” Art’s voice breaks in, and I hear a sound like a punch to the gut, followed by a groan and a soft scream.
“I swear to fucking God, Art, if you lay another hand on them!”
“They’re fine. The old man talks too much.” Art clears his throat. “Now, about where to meet. I think our family estate sounds like a poignant place, yes? We can do the exchange there. The housekeeper and her husband go free, and I’ll take Sasha.” He snickers. “Maybe I’ll even take her in front of you, before I shoot you. That would make it all worth it–for me, anyway.”
I have a moment of unreality, a stunned feeling of wondering how the man on the other end of the line can actually be my brother. Art was reckless and selfish growing up, the youngest and the most spoiled, but it’s hard to reconcile the brother I once loved with the cruel voice speaking to me now.
“It doesn’t have to be this way, Art.” I swallow hard, trying to find the last remnants of forgiveness within myself, the possibility of making this right before it reaches a deadly end, for him or for us. “You can walk away. I’ll find a way–we can come to some other conclusion. You can have the money, the estate–I said it before, and I still mean it. We can cut ties and go our separate ways. You’re my brother, Art–this isn’t right. This isn’tyou.”
There’s a momentary pause, and I have a wild hope for the briefest of seconds that I might have gotten through to him. There’s no going back to what we were before as brothers after what he’s done. Still, there could be some semblance of forgiveness, even if I’m not sure I could ever find it in my heart to truly reconcile with him.
And then it’s dashed entirely.
“You don’t know who I am,” Art hisses. “You’ve been given everything you wanted. You strolled back into our family home as if there were no question that it should belong to you. You threw the girl who wanted you away with both hands, and yet she’s still yours. You clung to your principles and your vows and thought it made you better than anyone–butIknow whoyouare, deep down. A vicious, angry man who wants to hurt the ones who hurt him. So now you’ll have to face it–just before I put you out of your misery.”
There’s a moment of silence, and then he continues.
“Tonight, just after dark, at the estate. Meet me out front, just you and Sasha, alone. I’ll exchange Giana and Tommas for her, once I see that you have no weapons. And then I will have what I want–Sasha for my own, you dead, and me the only Agosti left to claim the family name.”
“Art–”
“If you don’t show up, they’re dead.”
The call ends, leaving me standing there holding the phone as Sasha looks at me with a stricken expression.
She swallows hard, turning to Levin. “If Max is killed, and Art tries to take me away, I want you to make sure he doesn’t. I don’t care what that means for me. I don’t care if it kills me. Don’t let him leave the estate with me, do you understand?”’
“Sasha–” I try to break in, but she shakes her head firmly, and I see the glimmer of stubborn, unshed tears in her eyes.
“I won’t go through that again. Whatever it takes. I know Max can’t hurt me. He never could, and I love him for it. But you–” she smiles weakly at Levin. “I know you understand. I know you could do it, however much you would hate it. I hope it doesn’t come to that. But–please promise me.”
Levin nods, and I stare at him, horrified. “What the fuck–”
“Listen to her, Max,” Levin says quietly. “You know what she’s been through, better than I do. If this is what she wants, then I can respect it. But,” he adds grimly, “I’m going to do my damndest to make sure that doesn’t happen. I promise you that. If there’s any way to get you both out alive with the others safe, I’ll do it. And failing that–”
“--keep Sasha safe.” I finish, and Levin nods.
“Exactly.”
There’s a heavy tension in the quiet darkness of the room as I sink down onto the bed next to Sasha, and the three of us sit there, contemplating what comes next. We don’t have long, a few hours at most.
Levin stands up slowly, his expression taut. “I’m going to do a patrol outside for a bit. Keep the door barred, I’ll knock before I come back in. Give you two a bit of alone time.”
When he leaves, Sasha turns to me as I stand and push the furniture back in front of the door. “I think–” she hesitates, her voice wobbly. “I think I just want you to hold me. Is that alright?”
I reach for her, moving backward on the bed so that we’re both propped up against the stiff pillows, Sasha in my arms as she curls against my chest. “You don’t even need to ask,” I tell her softly, kissing her hair as she lays her head against my shoulder. “We can stay just like this, for as long as you want.”
I’m acutely aware of the minutes ticking by, the hours, possibly the last ones I’ll ever spend with her. There’s so much that I could say, but it feels better to simply lie there, running my fingers through her hair and committing as much of this last little bit of time as I can to memory. The scent of her skin, the softness of her hair, the way she curls into me, trusting me with all of her even after everything we’ve been through–those are the things I want to carry with me into my last moments, if they come tonight.
All too soon, we hear Levin’s heavy knock at the door, letting us know that it’s time to go. Sasha sits up slowly, wiping away the dampness from the edges of her eyes. “I love you,” she says softly. “Always and forever. Don’t forget that.”
“I love you too.” I lean forward, kissing her forehead, her nose, and her mouth. “Always and forever.”
After that, there’s nothing to do except move the furniture away from the door and meet Levin outside, where he’s waiting with the car. There’s a heaviness inside of me that I can’t shake, and I can feel it in Sasha, too.