by Naomi West
“Well, I got the door open, didn’t I?” To prove my point, I pushed it back. It groaned with an ominous creak that rose a rash of goose bumps along Cora’s arms.
“I guess.”
“Get the girls.”
“What about you?”
“My men need a leader. I’ll come back and retrieve the three of you once our little bozo is dealt with.”
She surprised me by throwing both her arms around my neck. A second later, her lips were smashed against mine. The kiss had me reeling with desire, but if there was ever an inappropriate time to bone someone, it was definitely now.
Still, the kiss continued, feeding our ravenous hunger. Time seemed to stop, allowing us to savor the moment.
Why does it feel like she’s telling me ‘goodbye’? I thought to myself as I held her closer.
“This isn’t goodbye,” I said aloud.
“I know.”
45
I had to watch him go. Why? I don’t know. But it almost felt like he was taking a piece of me with him as he disappeared into that warehouse. I wanted to chase after him and make sure that this nightmare wouldn’t snatch him away from me, but I had two friends that I needed to save, and I wasn’t about to let them down.
The dankness of the dorm made me shiver. The walls were slick with humidity, and it stank of mildew. Overhead, a lightbulb flickered. Something scuttled nearby.
It’s just a rat, I told myself as I continued down the hallway. It’s just a rat.
I reached the door to the room where I had been imprisoned.
This was it.
I knocked.
Silence.
I listened carefully for any movement behind the door, but I couldn’t hear a thing. What if they weren’t there? Fear prickled at the back of my neck. Andrei and I hadn’t planned for that. We were banking on the fact that they would be tucked away inside the dorm and that I’d be able to retrieve them while the Valeri men fought the real problem—Lorenzo.
I knocked again. “Guys, it’s me.”
Again, silence.
“Martina? Alice? It’s me, Cora. Please, open the door. I’m going to get you out of here.”
I tried the door handle, but it was locked, and, of course, I didn’t have the key.
“Martina?” I said a little louder this time. I didn’t want to attract any unwanted attention. Lorenzo didn’t have much in terms of security, but I wouldn’t put it past him to have some tricks up his sleeves. “Alice —”
In the blink of an eye, Martina had me in a rib-breaking embrace. “Cora! It’s really you! Alice thought it was a trick, but I would recognize your voice anywhere.”
Alice stood back, her eyes narrowed with suspicion. “What are you doing here?”
“There’s really no time to explain.”
“You came back to rescue us? But how?”
“Andrei is taking care of Lorenzo and his men as we speak.” I pointed my thumb behind me and towards the main warehouse.
“And you just want us to believe that?” Alice asked with her arms crossed over her chest in a defiant stance. “How do we know you’re not working for Andrei and that we’ll end up sex slaves all the same?”
“Alice! How can you say something like that?” Martina chided. “Cora would never do that to us.”
“I don’t know her, and neither do you, really.”
“So what? You’d rather just rot here?”
“I’m just saying that I don’t believe that this man of hers would save us for no reason.”
I was growing anxious. The longer we remained in that room, the bigger the margin for error. There was no telling what was happening out there. For all I knew, it had turned into a bloodbath. My mind turned to the worst, imagining Andrei with his throat slit, choking on the air he breathed.
“Look, he has his motives, there’s no doubt about it. He hates Lorenzo almost as much as we do—”
“Debatable,” Alice interrupted. “I doubt he’s been fucked by the creep. That really changes your perspective about a person.”
“Alice, can you stop giving me a hard time for one second here? I’m really sorry about what happened to Nadia. It’s terrible, but just because she had a bad experience doesn’t mean I’m fated to go through the same. Andrei is different—truly and utterly different.”
She scoffed and turned her back, heading towards the bed.
I grabbed her by the wrist. “Don’t.”
She yanked away, her face livid.
“Please,” I begged. “I know that it’s hard to believe me and that it’s even harder to step into the unknown, but I can’t just leave you here. Martina and I will drag you out kicking and screaming if that’s what we have to do. Your life isn’t over, Alice. You can still go back and live.”
“What is there to live for?” she asked in the tiniest whisper. “My life sucked before my kidnapping. I have nothing to go back to.”
“You’ll find something to live for again,” Martina said. “I promise.”
“No.”
I glanced at Martina. “Alice, please. This might be our only chance to get out of here. Are you really going to ruin it because you want to be stubborn right now?”
“What’s worse—”
“The devil you know or the devil you don’t,” I finished for her. “Right now, there’s no devil at all if you just follow me out this door. Andrei isn’t a heartless bastard like the rest of them. He actually cares about me. His family actually functions on an honor code. Lorenzo’s the crazy one—even for mafia standards.”
“And you really believe that this guy is a good guy?”
“He’s not a saint, no. He’s done some terrible things in his past, but there are certain lines he will not cross and treating women like filth is one of them.”
Alice studied my face. “I hope you’re right because if you’re not, we’re all fucked.”
“Should I pack?” Martina asked.
“What is there to pack?” I asked. “All the skimpy clothes that Lorenzo made us wear? Maybe you want to bottle up the bathroom stench and bring it with you as a souvenir. Or maybe the yellowed pillows.”
“Point taken.”
“Good. And take one final look, ladies, because this is the last time you’ll ever see this room.”
Alice lingered at the doorway like there was something physically holding her back. “I never thought this day would come…”
“Well, it has, so don’t shy away from it.” I rested my hand on her shoulder. “I’m just sorry that I couldn’t have gotten here sooner and maybe Nadia—”
“Don’t.” She held up her hand. “The past is the past. I can cry about it all I want, but there is nothing I can do to ever change it. Hopefully, Nadia is in a peaceful place now—that’s all I can really ask for.”
Seeing the sadness in her eyes broke my heart. Before I knew what I was doing, I hugged Alice close to my chest.
“I’m sorry,” was all I said.
I knew that her stone-like facade was just that—an act. Deep down, she was wounded like a bird with clipped wings that desperately wanted to fly.
She returned the embrace.
Martina joined in.
Tears flowed from all of our eyes.
“I thought I would never see you again,” Martina sobbed. “I thought you were as good as dead. You don’t know how relieved I am to see you here—alive.”
“Same goes for you, girlie. No more fat fucks for you ever again.”
We shared a laugh, but it was short-lived. There was distant shouting.
“What was that?” Alice had that look of suspicion once again coloring her face.
“I don’t know, but I don’t think it’s such a good idea for us to be standing around.”
“Is your man waiting for you somewhere?”
“He told me to wait by the docks where all the cars are parked.” I pulled out the gun from my purse.
“Is that what I think it is?” Martina whispered like speaking too loud
ly might trigger it or something.
“It is.”
“Where did you get that thing?”
“Andrei gave it to me in case I came across any trouble.”
“And do you think we’re in trouble now?” Martina shuffled a little closer as we made our way down the hallway and toward the exit.
The door was shut, and that worried me. Were we trapped or had the wind simply forced the door shut?
“I think it’s better to be safe than sorry.”
“Cora?”
I stopped and looked back at Alice. “Yeah?”
“If you see Lorenzo, do me a favor and shoot him for me, will you? Or better yet, give me the gun, and I’ll gladly do the honors.”
“We’re not killing anyone.”
“The asshole deserves it.”
“I don’t want blood on my hands, even if it belongs to him. I’ll only use this if it’s absolutely necessary.”
“Hey, if you don’t have the balls—”
“Alice, if we just went around shooting people, we would be no better than any of these men. So, I don’t want to hear another word.”
The tension was running high, and it was trying my nerves. I didn’t want to snap at my friend like that, but just the thought of killing someone had me sick to my stomach. No matter the circumstance, I didn’t think I had it in me.
We reached the door. I held out my hand, pressing my palm to the cool metal. I gave it a little push, and to my relief, it opened.
Together, we all stepped forward. The moon was bright, painting everything in a silver sheen, making it easier to navigate through the property.
“It’s quiet,” Martina whispered.
She was right.
Too quiet, I thought as I glanced at the warehouse windows. I didn’t know what I expected to see, but it wasn’t there. Nothing moved behind those panes—not even a single shadow. What was happening right now? Had Andrei found Lorenzo? What about the goons? Had they been taken care of, or were they stalking around in the shadows, trying to find us?
“Stick together,” I prompted as we kept our backs to the building. In that manner, no one could sneak up on us.
We reached the fence.
“What now?” Alice chimed. “We can’t get past that barbed wire.”
“Uh, front entrance,” I responded, pointing to it.
“Oh.” She looked surprised. “I guess I never would have thought about going that way. Just seems a little too… obvious.”
“Hey, let’s not argue about it. It’s a way out, and that’s all I care about,” Martina interjected. “Now I don’t know about you, but I’m not just going to stand here with a target on my back.”
“Martina’s right. We should hurry.”
We hustled back to the cars. They were exactly where we had left them. I was about to open up Andrei’s car with the spare key, but before I could reach for the handle, something caught my attention. I craned my neck and noticed movement on the docks.
“Cora! What the hell are you doing?” Martina shouted. “Get back here!”
But for some reason, I was drawn forward.
“Cora!” Martina cried a second time. She yanked on the doors, but they were all locked shut.
“What is it?” Alice squinted into the distance.
“There.” I pointed to an idle boathouse. I couldn’t be sure, but I thought I heard the humming of its engine.
Alice tilted her head to the side, listening.
“Seriously, guys, I don’t think this is the best time for admiring the ocean. You can stare at it all you want once we’re the fuck out of here.” Martina tried to tow me towards the car, but that’s when I got a clear glimpse of what was happening.
“Lorenzo!” Alice and I both said it at the same time.
“Lorenzo?” Martina repeated. “I thought you man was taking care of him…”
He was chucking bags and other objects onto the little motor yacht that was moored against the gangway.
“He’s making a break for it.”
46
Shit. What do I do? I can’t just let him get away. A man like that will lie in wait until his moment of revenge. And given the chance, that revenge will be the misery of our lives.
“He’s getting away,” I repeated.
Alice opened her mouth like she was about to say something, but at that moment, Lorenzo looked up, and all three of us became as still as statues. My blood ran cold. Suddenly, I was back on the streets being jumped by that guy from the bar. The events of that night played out in my head until I was reeling with the aftershock of it all.
Breathe.
I just about managed it.
Lorenzo continued to stare like he might kill us with his gaze alone. I felt violated. My hand tightened around the gun, but instead of using it, I shouted Andrei’s name.
Both Alice and Martina flinched at the sound.
Was I loud enough? Would Andrei come to my rescue?
Lorenzo drew his gun. It was pointed right at my head. His finger was on the trigger. I could practically see the bullet emerging from the chamber. This was it. After everything, this was where I was going to die, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Time seemed to process in slow-motion.
I don’t know how but Yuri emerged from the shadows with a sawn-off shotgun pointed down at Lorenzo.
“I don’t think you want to do that, Lorenzo,” he called out in warning, drawing Lorenzo’s attention away from us.
Where did he come from? He’d opted to stay at the warehouse.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed his car pulled up beside Andrei’s.
Is this all a part of the plan?
“I don’t want trouble,” Lorenzo shouted. “Just let me be on my merry way, and it’ll be like none of this ever happened.”
“You know I can’t let you do that.” Yuri cocked his gun. “Don’t be a coward like your father, Lorenzo. Face this like a man.”
My heart stopped dead in my heart when I saw that Alice had disappeared. She was no longer on my left. I searched desperately in the hopes of finding her, but it was already too late. Before anyone could fire, Alice suddenly leaped off the dock towards the yacht. Her animalistic scream echoed through the night.
“Alice, no!” I shouted, making a grab as if to catch her, but she was already beyond my grasp. I would have fallen, but Yuri grabbed me by the collar and yanked me out of harm’s way.
Bang!
I got up just fast enough to see Alice’s body go slack. It careened directly into the mafia leader, knocking him over the edge.
Crack!
The impact bashed his skull on the gangway just before he was thrown overboard.
We all held our breaths, waiting for him to resurface. It never happened.
But Alice?
Her body bobbed against the surface.
“Oh God,” I wailed. “She’s dead… She sacrificed herself for us.”
Martina rushed down to the docks, tripping as she went. She kept saying something in Spanish that I couldn’t quite understand.
“Don’t.” Yuri tried to stop me from following suit.
“She was my friend.” I snarled and shoved him aside.
Martina was sobbing at the edge of the dock. “She’s dead,” she kept repeating over and over again. “She was so close to getting out of here…”
“Help me get her out,” I said.
Her blood was painting the water a shade of crimson.
“She’ll need a proper burial.”
It took a few tries to fish her out of the water, but eventually, we managed. There was this almost peaceful look on her face like she was finally… happy.
“She’s with Nadia now,” I whispered as I slowly passed my hand over her face, closing her eyes.
Martina choked back her sobs, but her body still trembled with the grief. “Why would she do that? Why would she try to attack him when she was completely unarmed?”
I thought back to the gun Andrei had gi
ven me. Had I summoned the courage to pull the trigger instead of screaming Andrei’s name, would Alice still be alive right now? Had I allowed this to happen?
Martina took the body into her arms and rocked it against her chest. “You can’t be gone—you can’t. You still had so much to live for.”
Yuri and Andrei arrived at the docks, standing like a couple of guardians. I half expected them to tell us to let her go, but they said nothing, allowing this much-needed moment of remorse. I don’t know how long we cried for, but it felt like an eternity. By the time Andrei picked me up off the ground, I was lightheaded.
“What’s going to happen to her?” I asked, clinging to his shirt because I needed something to ground myself against. “And where’s Martina?”
“Yuri’s taking care of her. She’s safe with him. Don’t worry.”
“I should have pulled the trigger…”
“You can’t blame this on yourself.” He eased me into the passenger seat and buckled me into place. “No one could have predicted this outcome. Lorenzo weaseled us, and Alice acted on that animalistic rage that gets most of us killed. There was nothing you could have done to save her, Cora.” He held my face in his hands and waited until I looked him in the eye. “Tell me that you understand that.”
“I understand that she’s gone…”
“But you and Martina are safe to live out the rest of your lives, and that’s what Alice would have wanted—that’s why she sacrificed herself. So you two could live in a way she never did. So, don’t let her down.”
“So that I could live…” I whispered. “So that I could live…”
47
If I had learned one thing with the whole Lorenzo affair, it was that you couldn’t let life slip you by because, if you did, it was gone in the blink of an eye.
“Are you sure that you want to do this? Isn’t it a little too soon?” Yuri raised an eyebrow at the tiny velvet box that I held my hands.
“I want to prove to her that I am serious.”
“Risking your life to save her friends wasn’t enough?”
“That was more of an obligation than a choice. I couldn’t exactly leave them to rot with that asshole.”