Lauriestared at the corpse on his carpet.He had not thought this was howviolent death came about—so quick, so soundlessly.The gun’ssilencer was good.Only the faintest detonation, like percussionheard through someone else’s headphones, had accompanied Sasha’ssqueeze of the trigger.All Laurie’s attention had been on him, noton Luca.No terrible crunch of bone and blood.Even now, all hecould see was a neat, dark hole in Luca’s T-shirt, just over theheart.
Warmhands closed on both his shoulders.“Laurie.Laurie, comeaway.”
That was Sasha.Laurie didn’t think anything else could havebroken his trance.He had seen death before.Luca, in hisblank-eyed sprawl, had lost half his apparent bulk, just asLaurie’s father had, laid out on the hospital slab.But he had notseendying.Hestumbled back a little, turning, and felt Sasha seize him and grasphim tight.“Oh, Laurie.Forgive me.”
Laurie breathed him in.He smelled of the night, of frost.Ofhard living, as if he had been forced back out onto the streets.Laurie closed both arms around his back, gulped down air, shortinhalations, until he could speak.“Forgiveyou?”
“Yes.So much trouble and darkness.I tried…I tried to keep itaway.I tried to keep away from you.”
“It was me that brought trouble to you.”That did not soundright.Sasha had once taught him an easy grammar rule for checking,but he couldn’t remember it now.“I brought my father to Birchwood.I killed Mama Luna.”
“Ah, no.No, love.She would never say that, I swear to you.Now, Laurie…” Sasha squeezed him ferociously, then pressed hishands to his shoulders, trying to ease him away.“Now I have to go.My people aren’t like Mama Luna.They’re likehim.And there’ll be more, just likehim, who come after.”
Hepulled himself away.Laurie, frozen with shock, for a moment couldonly stare at him.He remained rooted stupidly to the spot untilSash was almost at the door.He had arrived so suddenly—his absencebefore that had been so complete, so dreadful—that damagedemotional tendons inside Laurie, strained beyond elasticity, werefailing to respond.There was an instant when he could have let himgo.
But justone.
Sashagasped as his exit was blocked.Laurie took him by his collar, thenknocked him hard against the wall.“No,” he snapped.“You don’t dothis to me again.Kucharski offered you a deal.You’re a refugee,and neither of us owes our sodding fathers anything.Takeit.”
“Laurie,” Sasha whispered.His eyes were wide, pupils dilatedall the way with shock.“I ran.I’ve got an unlicensed gun.I justkilled someone.All deals are off.”
Lauriestood silently, taking this in.He glanced around the room.Anunlicensed gun.Yes, there it was on the table, where Sasha hadcarefully set it down after shooting Luca through the heart, as ifit had had one sole purpose and was now useless to him.“You don’thave a gun,” he said, releasing Sasha with one hand, reaching withthe other into the pocket of his jeans.“What would you be doingwith a gun?Your prints are on that one because you used it todefend me.Luca’s are on it because it belongs to him.All right?”Sasha gazed at him.Laurie, who felt like a stranger to himself,was not surprised at the blank lack of recognition in his eyes.“Asfor running, Kucharski knows why you did that.And you’ve no ideahow badly he wants Stefan Petrica.”He handed Sasha his mobile andwatched him take it blindly.“That’s Kucharski’s number.Callhim.”
Sashawrenched from his grasp.He turned his back—walked away from himwith his head down.Laurie shuddered and folded his arms across hischest.What had he done?By what right did he tell Sasha what todo?Christ.In exacting obedience from Sasha, what had Lauriesacrificed?Couldn’t he have been content to love him and let himalone, even if that meant losing him?
Sashaslumped down onto the sofa.He propped one elbow on his knee andran a hand into his hair.In his other hand, he clutched the mobileso hard his knuckles were white.He said, after a moment, “Is thatDS Kucharski?”
A pause,during which Laurie thought he could hear frost forming beyond theopen window.
“Yes.This is Sasha.This is Alexandru Petrica.I’m turningmyself in.I’m in East Hill with Laurie Fitzroy.I want to seekasylum, and…I’m prepared to give up Stefan to you.Myfather.”
There was a long pause.During it, Laurie could only imaginewhat John Kucharski had to say.The last part of it must havebeenwhy now or why the change ofheart, because Sasha suddenly looked up.Tears were pouring down his face.He said, brokenly, all the icegone from his voice, “Because of Laurie.My father sent someone,and…he was going to hurt Laurie.”
Lauriestumbled over to him.The mobile clattered to the floor.Laurieknelt, said, “Here,” and caught Sasha as he crumpled off the sofaand into his arms.He turned so that he shielded Sasha with hisbody from Luca’s dead stare, and clutched him and kissed the crownof his head until the seizure of sobbing relented.
Lauriewas half-relieved, half-afraid.He had known Sasha could cry, butAlexandru—son of Stefan Petrica, capable marksman, deadly inproportion to the world from which he’d come—Alexandru was newground to him.Tenderness and pride racked Laurie at once.He wasseeing—beginning to see—all that Sasha was; Sasha was letting himsee it.“Hush,” he said, rocking him.“You’re okay.You’re homenow.”
Sashasnatched a breath and choked.“That’s the…problem,” he said when hecould.His hot brow was pressed to Laurie’s shoulder, handsclenching in the wool of his sweater.“I was so close.Living in asquat in the next street.I was watching you.”
“Heading off muggers.Leaving a deposit for me at the bank ofHassan Greengrocer.”Laurie kissed wet salt off Sasha’s cheek.“Iknow.”
“But I couldn’t come to you.I couldn’t come home.”
“God, Sash.Do you think I’d have cared?About the danger, or…I’d rather have faced that a hundred times than all those nightsnot knowing where you were.Is that why you wouldn’t stick aroundafter I’d moved in here?”
“Well, I did.Far too often.I’d thought we were safe, thoughtI’d shaken them off.When you left home, all I meant to do was lookafter you.And I wanted to live with you.”He gripped Laurie’s armsconvulsively.“When you asked me to move in, it nearly killed me tosay no.But I swear to you, the very day after you came here, Ithought I saw one of my father’s men near the camp.I should havecleared out then.But I couldn’t.I didn’t see him again, so I kepttaking chances, coming back to you, then being soafraid…”
“And running back into the dark.Please, sweetheart.Neveragain.”
“Oh—like I could.My father’s mob would have killed me if I’dbeen deported back home, but it wasn’t why I ran from theimmigration police.I couldn’t stand the thought of a sea betweenus.Thinking of that, so much distance—it was stones on my chest.I…I couldn’t breathe.”
“Breathe now.”He was struggling, half-drowned in tears.Lauriesat back to ease it, to let him get the morning air coming inthrough the window.It was fresh—laced with petrol fumes, butsomehow sweet.Full of light.They knelt together in the Februarysun.“After that night at the camp,” he said quietly, “and whathappened to Mama Luna, I didn’t think you’d even want to come,” hesaid.“I hoped, but—”
“Oh, Laurie.I tried to hate you, but it lasted not even tenminutes.Not even till I got out of the woods.Your father didthat, love.Not you.I know what he can do to you.Iknow.”
“Not anymore.Sash, once we sort out your stuff, we’re free.Out from under.He died.”
Sashawent still.He lifted his head and looked at Laurie inastonishment.“What happened?”
