Page 56 of Vows of Blood
Unless somebody tries to contact him and he happens to mention where he is. No, I still need to warn him about what’s going on. Worse case, wherever he’s headed, he might have tochange it just to make sure no one can track him. It’s what I would do, anyway.
I get out of the car and I straighten my shirt as Pecora’s henchman opens the trunk to put the bags in. I wonder if there are any more of his goons around here somewhere. If there are, they might be inside with him.
I know this is against protocol, but I don’t know if they know that. For all any of them knows, the alliance is still in place. I’m just a messenger coming from Mechnikov’s camp.
I don’t even get to take a step before I hear the sound of gunshots coming from the house. The goon by the car flinches, then reaches into his jacket and pulls out a gun as he races back up the walk and to the house.
Shit. It’s already going down. Am I too late?Fuck,I have to make sure he’s all right.
I grab my gun from my holster and follow the path of his goon, leaping up the porch steps, taking them two at a time. The door’s been left swinging open and I hear shouting from inside. Carefully, I get behind the half open door and peek around the edge. From here, I can see part of the living room, but not much else. I hear them talking from another room.
“He’s fucking shot, you moron!” one of them yells. “We need to get him out of here!”
I push the door open a little more and I get a view of the kitchen. There’s broken glass all over the linoleum and blood smeared above some of the pieces. I hear Pecora shout, “Get me to a fucking hospital, you fuckwits!”
He’s been shot, but he’s alive. If he’s strong enough to yell, the injury might not be that bad. Hopefully, they just caught him in the arm or the leg.
So, okay. Whoever did this can’t be one of my soldiers because I haven’t given the order for it… at least it had fucking better not be one of mine. I’ve got half a mind to run around to the back of the house and try to see if I can catch the son of a bitch.
No, I need to make tracks before Pecora’s men find me here. The last thing I need is to make everything a million times worse. I step away from the door and put my gun back in the holster. The second I get to the walk, I hear the door open. I look over my shoulder just in time to see the goon who was out by the car before. His face is shiny with sweat and now it’s twisted with rage.
“Son of abitch!”
No time to explain that I’m not the guy he wants. I sprint for my car. Gunshots ring out and the smell of gunpowder surrounds me. Sparks fly up at my feet.
I leap into my car. Thank God I left it unlocked. I press the start button to get it started, but not before several of the bullets pepper my car’s finish.
I pull off with the sound of shouting and gunfire right behind me. Dammit. Trying to warn the bastard might have just made this entire situation worse.
“Where are you right now?”
My car is steaming outside the bar as I gaze out of the front window at it. The view is partially married by the backward paint spelling out the name of the bar, but I can see it just fine. It’s covered in bullet holes. Judging by the white steam tendrils coming from under the hood, I’m sure one of them got my radiator. The bartender has been kind enough to let me use his phone, which is a great stroke of luck. I don’t dare call Pavel on my cellphone after what just happened.
I look over at the bartender. I didn’t bother looking at the sign when I came in and now it’s all garbled from my point of few. I put the phone to my chest. “What’s the name of this place?”
“Paddy’s Bar and Grill,” he says.
“I’m at Paddy’s Bar and Grill maybe a couple of miles away from Pecora’s,” I tell Pavel. My car is done. There’s no way I’m going to drive it now and if Pecora’s boys are out looking for me, it’s probably the most identifiable vehicle on the road. I need an extraction immediately.
“Shit,” he says. He sounded tense the entire time I explained what happened to him. Now he sounds like he’s on the verge of panic. “Do you need me to come get you?”
“No, no. I’m gonna get a car service back to the house.”
He sighs. “You know Papa’s gonna find out about this any minute. He’s going to wring our necks if anybody tells him you were there.”
I don’t have anything to say because it’s true. I was in the one place I was not supposed to be and I nearly got myself killed… again. I’m not sure which part of this he’ll be madder at. The fact that Pecora’s still alive or the fact that I was stupid enough to beidentified by his people on the morning an attempt was made on his life.
“Alexei?”
“I’m here,” I say to him. Then in Russian, “Pavel, this was one of ours that did this.”
“Yeah… yeah, I figured.” There’s a faint beep. He pauses, then, “Shit. That’s him now. Listen, if you’re getting a car service, you might as well go ahead and head back to Papa’s house. He’s going to want to see you.”
“Maybe. I prefer to wait to see if he summons me. He’s just as likely to yell at me over the phone instead.”
“Right. Either way, stay safe, okay?”
“I will.” I hang up the phone and wipe my brow. The vest under my clothes feels heavy and is starting to ache in spots. I haven’t checked for bullet holes in my shirt, but I’m willing to bet some of those bullets got me.
