“Come on,” I whisper, “we have ten minutes to get him to the blind spot by the cliffs before the guards walk the route.” I wrap a sweatshirt from the lost and found at the gym around Mateo’s waist to keep him from leaving a blood trail. He’s still alive, his eyes reflecting his agony, his legs and arms already useless. Throwing him over my shoulder in a fireman’s hold, I nod to Tatiana to lead the way, while Aleks follows behind us to make sure we’re not seen.
“Stop!” he whispers. We all freeze as two students walk into the library, laughing about one of the professors. “Go on,” he hisses when it’s clear.
Tatiana walks lightly, stepping into the shadows as gracefully as a dancer, moving from one pool of darkness to the next, keeping us out of sight of the surveillance cameras. When we make it to the edge of the path that crumbles to the edge of the cliff, Aleks grabs Mateo’s legs and we swing him between us, as far out as we can hurl him.
His limp body disappears into the darkness, falling to be torn to pieces by the rocks and the ocean.
“Come back over here,” Tati whispers, “the guards could be by any minute.” Once we’re past the library, I take her hand, my finger stroking her rabbiting pulse in her wrist.
“We’re going to meet up with Konstantin and Mariya in front of the fireplace downstairs by the entryway,” I said quietly. “We’re going to make sure we’re visible for the next hour. Do you both understand?”
Aleks shrugs, he’s much more at ease than I expected him to be. Tati’s eyes are huge, but she nods firmly.
When we step into the warmth of the student housing building, Konstantin and Mariya are lounging in front of the fire, sipping wine, and singing some Russian song that I’m fairly certain - knowing Kon - is filthy.
“There you are!” Mariya calls, “Come over and have some wine before this disreputable drunk finishes all three bottles.”
We get comfortable, and Tatiana translates the lyrics to the song for me. Which are impressively filthy, just as I expected. The wind outside rises to a howl.
Camilla, who’s just joined us, cocks her head, listening as it rips around the building. “That sounds like one hell of a storm brewing,” she says.
“Winter storms on the island are vicious,” I shrug, “the waves cover everything in a coat of ice.”
She shivers, rubbing her arms. “One of you big, strong men go throw a couple of those logs on the fire,s'il vous plaît.”
We sit around the fire till midnight, drinking and swapping stories with the others, and then I pull Tatiana to her feet. “Goodnight all,” I say, sweeping her up in my arms. She rolls her eyes elaborately, waving goodnight to the rest over my shoulder.
Safely inside my room, she turns on me, eyes blazing. “You killed him! I thought we were just stealing his phone,” she hissed.
“Mateo was never going to stop,” I said. “It doesn’t matter whether Aleks’ father believed him or not, there would always be something. He had to die. Are you forgetting his threats to you tonight?”
She shook her head.
“Are you afraid of me?” I ask slowly.
“How could I be? You did what you did to protect Aleks and me,” she said. “How can… that was seconds, a blink of my eyes. How do you learn…?”
“Are you forgetting who I come from?” I said, walking toward her, backing her into the bed. She gives a little yelp when her knees hit the mattress and she sits down abruptly. “The Toscanos are assassins. We can pretend we own real estate, clubs, restaurants. But we’re killers. No amount of legitimate business will ever wipe our hands clean.”
“You killed for me,” she said sadly.
Kneeling in front of her, I stroke her legs. “That’s not the first life I’ve taken. It won’t be the last.”
Resting her hands on my cheeks, Tatiana kisses me. “I hope that’s the last one you ever have to take to protect me.”
Pulling off my sweater, I lean over her, pressing her back against the bed as I unbutton her shirt.
I don’t know why I woke up, only that a quick glance at my watch tells me it’s 3:48 a.m. and the space next to me is empty.
“Tati, are you okay?” I rub my face, rising and heading to the bathroom. She’s not there. Ripping open the door, I search the main room. “Baby?”
Tatiana is gone.
Chapter Thirty-One
In which Dean Christie really has had enough.
The Interrupters - She's Kerosene
