Chapter 23

CHAPTER 23

D’Angelo

It was hard to tell since I couldn’t look at Oliver for long, but it seemed like he understood my message. I wouldn’t abandon him and would do my best to keep him in the loop about what was happening.

The watch on my wrist was new, so the sight of it on my wrist still seemed unnatural when I subtly looked down.

Not quite time yet.

Oliver’s grandmother sat at the table across from me, her posture so perfect I could almost imagine the dangerous operative she once was.

What must it be like, to be trained into a lethal weapon, only to be put on the shelf and forgotten?

A sleeper agent who was never woken up. Surely that must have a negative effect on a person.

It seemed I wasn’t the only one with these questions, for Aslanov stepped up next to the woman and placed a deliberate hand on the back of her chair.

“I have to say, madam, you are one of our most devoted agents. To live amongst the enemy for so many years.”

She shook her head, a ‘tisking’ sound falling from her lips.

“Many agents have fallen for the trap of sentimentality before. Becoming too attached to their fake lives and failing to act when the moment finally arrived. When I first realized we had an agent here, I had my doubts, but this is one of the few times I’m glad to be mistaken.”

Oliver’s grandmother turned just enough to face Aslanov and tipped her head into a slight bow. “My duty has always been clear. If I am able to serve the Pahkan now, then my time will have been worth it.”

“Glad to hear it. Glad to hear it.” Aslanov switched to the other side of the chair, her hand sliding along the back, so it just brushed against Oliver’s grandmother.

Tension hung over all our heads like a guillotine blade. Despite her words, Aslanov’s true intent couldn’t have been more obvious. She didn’t fully trust Oliver’s grandmother.

That was fine by me. Let them waste time passive-aggressively arguing with each other.

Aslanov leaned closer so she was looming over the older woman’s shoulder. “I’m curious, though. Were you relieved when the order to act finally came in? You could finally cast off your fake life and stop acting.”

The ship under our feet rocked with the waves, so it was impossible to sit perfectly still, but Oliver’s grandmother attempted it as she refused to face Aslanov directly.

“My feelings are not a factor, so there is no relief. Only actions matter, and my actions are always in service to the Pahkan.”

“Hmmm.” Aslanov rubbed her chin as if thinking, then sat directly on the table so she could loom even more efficiently.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Such theatrics were... unnecessary. On an average civilian or even a lower-level subordinate, such posturing might be intimidating, but Oliver’s grandmother was a seasoned spy. She’d likely received some of the best training the Russian Mafia had to offer. Aslanov’s attempt to show dominance would have no effect.

Still, Aslanov pressed on with her performance. “In service of the Pahkan, hmm. Except, that’s not really true, is it? Fifteen years ago, your son stole a shipment between the Italian and Russian families, and then disappeared. There’s no way a low-level enforcer had the ability to pull off a heist like that on his own. You must have helped him. Now, I never agreed with that trade deal to begin with, so I approved of its disruption, but the fact stands that you took action without an order. One that disrupted the Pahkan’s plans. Now, this can be forgiven since you weren’t given any instructions, but I’m going to need some assurance that your loyalty is still intact.”

While I still wasn’t sure what Aslanov was angling for, I knew it couldn’t be anything good. The two women were still distracted by each other, so I quickly glanced down at my watch again.

Just a few minutes left.

Finally, Oliver’s grandmother moved more than a few muscles at a time. She stood from the chair with the grace of an aging queen and faced Aslanov directly. “Enough. State what you want plainly so that I may demonstrate my loyalty.”

To my horror, Aslanov’s gaze shifted toward Oliver.

I had been trying not to look at the other man, so that I could maintain my composure. The sight of him gagged and bound, which might have been scintillating in a more intimate setting, in this situation sent my blood boiling. The gun pointed at his head was enough for me to wish death on every single Russian on the ship.

Even myself, for getting Oliver into this situation in the first place.

Aslanov grinned like she had knives instead of teeth. “It’s simple. Prove your fake life means nothing to you. Get rid of the boy, and then we can move onto more enjoyable matters.”

She then, very promptly, handed a gun to Oliver’s grandmother.

I balled my hands into fists under the table. If they dared to harm a hair on his head, I would spill both of their guts over the floor.

Yet, the time wasn’t right. I needed to stall.

Luckily, thanks to our previous meeting, I’d already figured out what annoyed Aslanov the most.

I laughed. “Aren’t you forgetting something? We still have a trade deal to negotiate. That won’t work very well if you get rid of your bargaining chip.”

The response from Aslanov wasn’t what I’d hoped. She merely smirked at me, like I was a child who’d just claimed that two plus two equaled five.

“Love must be clouding your brain, D’Angelo.” I started to correct her, but she just held up her hand to silence me. “Don’t bother. I’ve seen you swooning after this boy. You’re quite besotted. I can’t see why. He’s certainly not going to win any beauty pageants, but I don’t care about whatever weird horror fetish you have. All I care about is that you’ll do whatever I want to keep him safe.”

There wasn’t really a point in denying it. She’d already seen right through me. I probably should have been more discrete when pursuing Oliver, but I hadn’t realized how dangerous the situation was for him until it was too late.

That was my failing, and if I wasn’t careful, then Oliver would be the one paying for my mistake.

Since I didn’t need to pretend any longer, I looked directly at him for the first time since setting foot on the ship. He looked terrified. The ropes on his wrists were chafing his skin raw and the gag was obviously biting into the corners of his mouth. I wanted nothing more than to rip them off him.

Breathing deep through my nose, I calmed my racing heartbeat.

“Fine. Even if what you say is true, then your little hidden spy here can’t kill him. A dead hostage isn’t very effective.”

Aslanov laughed, and I seethed while she stood from the table with a dismissive wave of her hand. “He’s already served his use as a hostage. He got you here, alone and unarmed.” Pulling out a second gun, she pointed it right at me. “I don’t need him anymore. The threat to your own life will keep you complacent. We’re going to negotiate that trade deal, and you’re going to sign over everything I want.”

I wasn’t sure who to focus on, the gun pointed at me, or the gun in Oliver’s grandmother’s hands that wasn’t pointing anywhere yet.

This time I couldn’t look at my watch without being noticed, but I could guess how much time had passed.

Soon.

“I may be the head of the Bianchi family, but perhaps you’ve forgotten that Alex Mariano is the true leader of our organization. It doesn’t matter what I agree to if he doesn’t agree as well.”

Aslanov scoffed, and stepped closer so she was as close as possible while still out of my reach. “That spoiled Mafia Prince is too young to wield real power. Why else did he bring you in when he could have handled this situation on his own? He relies on you, and he’ll do whatever you say he should do.”

That wasn’t a fair assessment of Alex, but it wasn’t entirely wrong, either. If I wanted, I could probably convince him to go along with any negotiations I made, although it wouldn’t be as easy as Aslanov made it seem. Alex was young and inexperienced, but he wasn’t stupid. He’d been raised to be a leader, just as I was.

Crossing my arms and trying to act nonchalant, I tapped my foot against the leg of the table. “You’re not the first person to threaten me, and death doesn’t scare me. So, what happens if I don’t roll over and give you whatever you want?”

It seemed nothing could upset Aslanov. Despite my blatant disregard for her threats, she merely shrugged.

“Then I kill you, and I go back to the Pahkan and say you attacked me first. He’ll have no choice but to drop this trade deal entirely, which works for me. I don’t like this deal to begin with. Either way, I get something I want.”

Stuck within a dead-end argument, I grit my teeth and glared at her. No matter which option I chose, there was no winning.

When I didn’t react, Aslanov seemed to grow bored and turned her attention back to Oliver’s grandmother.

“We’ve wasted enough time. Kill the brat and let’s get on with things. I’ve got better plans for you. I don’t know why you were left to rot here, but it can work in our favor. An old woman with a sick grandson will gain a lot of sympathy. It’s a great cover, and we can use it to our advantage. Who would ever suspect you? The possibilities are endless.”

The mention of his brother stirred something in Oliver. He struggled against the ropes tying him to the chair and tried to shout through his gag. His grandmother watched him for a moment, but without a change in her expression, she lifted the gun in her hand to point directly at him.

Oliver froze, and my blood turned to ice. There was no way I would just let her shoot him. Even if it ruined our relationship with the Russians and caused a war between our organizations, he was getting out of here alive.

I was halfway out of my chair when a gunshot rang through the air. For one dreadful moment, I thought I’d acted too late. I waited for the horrible sight of Oliver’s body slumping over within his bonds and the light fading from his eyes.

Yet, he remained alert. Terrified, but obviously alive.

Instead, his grandmother dropped dead to the floor.

“What?” Aslanov whirled around in the direction the gunshot had come from.

Alex Mariano’s familiar form sat on the railing just beyond the window, holding an impressive looking assault rifle with the other. With one hand, he gave everyone within the room a cheeky wave, then cocked the gun again and took aim.

Time was up.

Not wasting a moment, I dove across the table and killed the pair of men standing on either side of Oliver with two quick slashes of my knife. They were dead before they hit the floor and forgotten even faster.

There wasn’t time to fully untie Oliver. I cut just enough rope to remove him from the chair, then picked him up and started running. His weight bounced uncomfortably in my arms, and I could hear him shouting around the gag still in his mouth, but there wasn’t time to explain. He was just going to have to trust me.

Well, even if he didn’t trust me, he didn’t have a choice anyway. He was coming with me whether he wanted to or not.

Slamming open the door that led from the ship’s control room out on the deck, I heard gunshots behind me but didn’t stop to see who was firing. None of the bullets hit me or Oliver, so either it was friendly fire, or very badly aimed enemy fire. Either way, not my concern.

Still running, we reached the edge of the ship. There, I paused just long enough to remove the gag from Oliver’s mouth.

“Take as deep a breath as you can,” I told him, before jumping over the railing while still carrying him in my arms.

It was a long fall, and a harsh impact with the water below. To his credit, Oliver managed to not waste his air screaming, but I could feel him trembling in fear. Together, we hit the water and were immediately pulled under by the waves.

Despite the warm weather, the high seas were always cold. The temperature hit me like a punch to the gut, and I could only imagine what Oliver must be going through, still mostly tied up. Everything around us was dark, and as the current pulled us deeper, we quickly lost sight of the ship.

I pulled Oliver closer, and he curled against me. Then, with both of our lungs burning with the need to breathe, we waited.

Moments later, something grabbed my shoulder.

My initial instinct was to fight, but logic won over primal desires as a scuba mask was placed over my face. A second mask was then pressed into my hands, which I quickly slipped over Oliver’s face as well. A pair of hoses connected to the masks supplied us with oxygen, and his trembling ceased once he was able to breathe again.

The mask also allowed me to see a little better under the water. It was still dark, but I could just make out a vaguely human shape, next to something long and sleek.

It was an underwater glider, with a small engine hidden inside its sleek body to propel it forward and handles along the outer shell for divers to hold onto.

The person currently floating next to the glider couldn’t be identified in the dark, but I knew it was Eva.

Right on time, and all according to the plan.

Trying to cut off the rest of Oliver’s ropes underwater would be more dangerous than it was worth. I merely held him close with one arm while grabbing onto the glider with the other. Eva also helped to steady us as the glider carried us through the water.

We didn’t go very far before surfacing, maybe five hundred yards at most, but the glider wasn’t particularly fast, so even such a short distance took a while to cover. When we finally surfaced, I was so relieved to feel fresh air against my skin. The ocean was a terrifying place, and I didn’t like thinking about what could be lurking just out of sight in the depths below us.

A much smaller boat floated on the surface, where Gavriil waited for us. He helped get everyone on the boat, then dumped a bunch of towels on us before taking care of the glider.

I was finally able to get the rest of the ropes off Oliver, then started drying him off with the towels. He didn’t say a word and let me position him however I wanted. Once he was done and as dry as he was going to get, he pressed against my chest and stayed there. I could feel him trembling, yet he didn’t cry or even make a sound.

“What about the others?” I asked Eva as I finished drying myself off.

“Mariano’s people should be handling it. That bodyguard of his is surprisingly efficient for someone who was a civilian not too long ago.”

I checked my watch, which was luckily waterproof. “Assuming everything is still on schedule, then we should be seeing the final conclusion right... about...”

An explosion rocked the heavens and turned the surface of the ocean into a chaotic tantrum. A fireball billowed up from the Russian’s ship, illuminating the sky with orange light. The whole vessel seemed to have been practically cut in half, and immediately started sinking in a poor recreation of the Titanic.

Oliver whimpered and pressed closer to me. Although the Russian ship was at least five hundred yards away, warm firelight still illuminated the side of Oliver’s face.

Knowing how he reacted to fire, I held him closer and cradled his head against my chest so he couldn’t see the burning ship.

We watched the chaos in the distance for a moment as our little boat bobbed in the waves. After a few minutes, Gavriil finished with the glider and sat next to us.

“Do you think Aslanov survived?”

“Probably,” I shrugged. “A sinking ship wouldn’t kill that woman. Unless one of Alex’s people got lucky with a bullet, we’ll be seeing her again. However, a display of power like this from Alex will at least make the Russian’s think twice about starting a war. They’ll probably even respect him more now.”

Gavriil grunted. “Pity. I was hoping Aslanov would go down with the ship. We could have used one less bitch in the world.”

I raised an eyebrow at his unexpectedly crude language, but when I felt Oliver shivering against me, I couldn’t help but agree. That woman had dragged Oliver through hell. She deserved to die.

Although, I’d also had a hand in what happened to him. I’d been the one to approach him in the first place, despite knowing how dangerous it was for anyone to associate with me. I wasn’t blameless in this situation.

Maybe that meant I deserved to die, too.

In all the years of my life, it wasn’t the first time I’d asked myself that question. It was, however, the first time I didn’t have a definite answer.

I was a killer with too much blood on my hands. Life had handed me an olive branch of innocence, and I couldn’t help but feel like the universe was testing me.

What would I do?

If I was a decent person, I would let the olive branch go to avoid staining it with my sin.

Against me, Oliver shivered as a cool breeze blew past.

I held him tighter.

I never claimed to be a decent man.