I roll sideways, scooping Rosie up, and wrap my body around her. Bullet casings ping across the floor, but it’s a slaughter. Medved’s men drop as Massimo comes bursting through the door followed by Gabe, their guns on full automatic, mowing the enemy fighters down with single-minded intensity. When there are no more soldiers, Mass tosses his gun aside.
“Allie!” he shouts, coming toward me.
“Looks like we cleaned this fucking place up,” Gabe says, grinning wickedly.
“You bastard!” Medved hurls himself over Elias’s bed and slams into Gabe’s side. The pair of them hit the floor in a heap, kicking and punching. Medved rears back with a knife in his hand, and I barely have time to scream a warning.
But I’m too late. Medved stabs down, driving the knife into Gabe’s ribs. He screams in agony as blood spurts around the wound. Medved yanks the knife out for another blow, but Mass is ready.
He slams into the Russian, catches Medved’s wrist, and twists it. The knife falls away as Mass uses the momentum to lock Medved’s arm in a complicated grip. Mass wrenches back, using his whole body to torque Medved’s arm once, twice, three times, until the tendons and bones snap, and the old Russian criminal screams in agony.
Mass releases him and scrambles away. He grabs a gun from a fallen soldier and stands there, breathing hard, as Medved rolls side to side in agony, clutching at his ruined elbow.
Gabe clutches his wound, bleeding, his face pale.
“Allie, are you okay?”
I slowly get to my feet. I’m dazed and hurting, but not seriously injured. “We’re okay.” I hold Rosie tight, doing my best to quiet her down. The stink of death and blood is everywhere. “Mass, how did you know? We need to get help for Gabe!”
“Lady told me.” He stares at Medved with pure loathing. “She tracked him here. Lady, call for medics. Gabe, how bad?”
“Not good,” my brother whispers. “Oh, fuck, getting stabbed sucks.”
I hurry to my brother’s side and do what I can for the wound. Mostly, I press a strip of bedding against the ragged hole to stem some of the bleeding. Gabe doesn’t move, staring up at me, his face already pale.
“Did my best,” he whispers, shivering in pain. “Did pretty good, I’d say.”
“You did great,” I tell him.
His hand clutches my arm weakly.
“What happened here?” Mass asks.
“Elias is dead,” I say, fear and mourning hitting me. God, I can’t take another death. I can’t handle losing Gabe too. I feel like I can barely stay standing.
Mass lets out a pained breath. “It’s for the best. He knew his time was coming.”
“Fuck you all!” Medved screams, rolling onto his back, his right arm flopping uselessly. “Fuck you, Massimo, you rat, you cunt, you worthless runny shit!”
Mass stomps down on Medved’s good wrist and presses the gun to the Russian’s head. “You took your shot. You missed.”
Medved screams an unintelligible string of pure rage but is cut off abruptly when Mass pulls the trigger.
Silence follows, heavy and profound. Mass sags as he drops the gun. “Lady, patch me into the intercom system.”
“Go ahead, Massimo.”
“To Medved’s forces, your Pakhan is dead. His body is growing cold at my feet. Turn around and leave this place before we slaughter those few who remain. Drop your weapons and run. Your end is coming for you now.” He waits a moment until Lady confirms that it was broadcast all across the island.
I press against Gabe’s wound. “Help’s coming,” I tell him. “Just hold on.”
“Hey, are we even now?” He smiles at me, eyelids drooping. “I think I did pretty good, right?”
“Gabe, stay awake. Gabe!”
His smile seems sincere as his eyes close.
Mass takes Rosie and presses his fingers to Gabe’s neck.
