"What's wrong? What happened?" I can hear rustling in the background, urgency.
"I'm at Eclipse. Alexei's club. In his office. He's—" My voice breaks. "There's so much blood."
"What?" His voice is sharp. Disbelieving. "What the fuck are you talking about? What were you doing with Alexei?"
"He called. I came. He tried to—" I can't explain. "It doesn't matter. He's dead, Saint. I killed him."
Silence. Long. Terrible.
He's not coming. I am so fucking dead. I was rash, impulsive, everything everyone always accuses me of being, and now, I'm going to pay for that with my life.
"Jesus Christ, Gemma." I can hear him moving, fast. "You're sure he's dead?"
"Yes." I look at the body. "Very sure."
His voice changes. Goes cold. Focused. "Anyone see what happened?"
"No. We're in his office. It's been maybe twenty minutes, and no one has come. He's just laying here. There's so much blood."
"Okay." I hear an engine starting. "Okay. Listen to me carefully. Lock the door. Don't touch anything else. Don't move the body. Don't clean anything. Just stay there."
"His men are downstairs?—"
"I know. I'll handle it. Just stay in that office. Can you do that?"
I look at Alexei's body. At his empty eyes. I swallow.
"Yes."
"Gemma." His voice is firm. "Listen to my voice. You can do this. You've survived worse. You just need to hold on for twenty minutes. Can you give me twenty minutes?"
"What if someone comes?"
"Lock the door. Don't open it for anyone but me. Understand?" A pause, and I hear someone else in the background. "Marcello's setting a fire in the warehouse next door. Big one. Fire trucks, evacuations, chaos. His men will be busy. You walk out in the confusion."
"A fire?" How did Saint get Marcello so quickly?
"When you hear the sirens, count to thirty, then unlock the door. There's a back hallway with service stairs. I'll meet you there."
"This is insane?—"
"Twenty minutes."
"Okay."
"And Gemma? I've got you."
The line goes dead.
I collapse on the floor. Not because of guilt or a weak stomach, but because the adrenaline has left me and my body is giving out.
Twenty minutes.
Twelve hundred seconds.
I count them in my head.
I look at Alexei, and I feel pride.
