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hands. "The doctor?"
He nodded and kept pressure on Johnny's wounds. "He's on Nikolai's payroll. I trust
him to fix Johnny and keep his mouth shut."
"But why?" Benny looked so terribly conflicted. "Why do we have to keep our
mouths shut? Why can't we just call 9-1-1 and get the police and an ambulance over
here?"
"They'll kill us," Johnny interjected, his voice weak and breathless.
"Who?" She gently rubbed her brother's cheek. "Who did this to you?"
He shook his head, refusing to answer.
"Johnny, please "
"No, Benny. You don't need to know. The less you know, the safer you are."
Dimitri found some respect for Johnny. For the first time in a long time, he was
finally putting someone else before himself. If he told Benny details, she wouldn't be able
to lie to the police who would be sniffing around soon enough. She'd cave under pressure
and put a target on her own back. If the people who shot at Johnny thought she could
finger them, they wouldn't hesitate to take her out to protect themselves either.
"Benny, hold these towels on his wounds. I need to get dressed."
She moved next to him and put her hands over his. He tugged his hands free and
brushed a kiss against her cheek before standing. Hurrying into the bedroom, he grabbed
clothes from the closet and shut the door, hiding the evidence of their amorous night.
He was pulling on his shoes when there was another knock at the door. Certain it
was Kostya but refusing to take any chances, he picked up the gun he'd set down near the
door and glanced through the peephole. Kostya's familiar shape greeted him. He
unlocked the door and ushered his friend inside.
Kostya's gaze fell to the bloody smears on the floor. His jaw hardened but he said
nothing. A man of few words, he didn't need to ask what had happened or what needed
to be done now. He'd come prepared, wearing blue hospital scrubs and surgical coverings
over his shoes.
His friend trailed him into the kitchen where Benny talked soothingly to Johnny
and pressed hard on his oozing wounds. Kostya took one look at the bloody scene and
nodded stiffly. "No problem, Dimitri. I'll take care of this."
Relieved to have Kostya's help, Dimitri grabbed trash bags and duct tape from the
pantry. He secured the makeshift trauma dressings in place and wrapped the trash bags
around them to keep blood from leaking out all over the place. Kostya addressed him in
their shared language and asked for Dimitri's keys. After swiping them from the pile of
clothing on the floor, he left the apartment, no doubt to secure a shower curtain or tarp
over the front seat of Dimitri's truck.
Alone with Benny and her brother, he slid a bloodstained hand along her waist and
pulled her close. He could practically smell the fear spilling off of her. "Kostya will keep
you safe while I'm gone. Do whatever he tells you, Benny. I'm going to get Johnny
patched up and stow him someplace safe." He glanced at her brother who seemed to be
hanging on fairly well. "I swear to you, Benny. I will keep him safe."
With a terrified sob, she threw her arms around his neck. "Please be careful. Both of
you," she begged. "I can't lose you both."
"You won't." He kissed her then, pressing all his love for her into it. His lips moved
to her forehead. "It will be all right, lyubimaya moya."
She sniffled and nodded weakly before turning to her brother. She gripped his
bloody hand in hers. Tears dripped down her face. "Johnny, I love you."
He rolled his eyes and tried to make light of the situation. "I'm okay, Benny. It's
nothing. You'll see."
Kostya returned to the apartment. Dimitri didn't want to prolong the awful parting
of the two siblings so he lifted Johnny off the floor and carried him out of the kitchen and
across the living room to the door. He didn't pause at the threshold to his apartment.
No, he kept moving. He moved with stealth and silence, hurrying to the open door
of his truck and placing Johnny on the seat. The kid groaned in agony but didn't fight
him when he buckled the belt around him. Checking both ends of the street and the
parking lot, Dimitri saw nothing out of the ordinary. Hopefully Johnny hadn't been
followed. If he had&
"No one knows I'm alive, man."
Dimitri threw the truck in drive and hit the gas. "You're sure?"
"Yeah, man. Benny's car? It's fucking toast."
"Toast? What do you mean?" He shot Johnny an annoyed look. "You were driving
your sister's car?"
"I took it this evening, after our fight."
Reminded of how Johnny had come at Benny during their argument, Dimitri
informed him, "You're lucky you've been shot. If you ever slam your sister into a wall
again, I'll shoot you myself and I won't fucking miss."
"I'm sorry." Johnny's whispered apology wasn't enough but it was a start. "I really
screwed this up, Dimitri."
"Yes, you did."
"I saw the other car too late." Johnny's voice had a far-off quality. "You were right,
man. I should have stayed inside."
"What happened?" Unlike Benny, he needed to know every single detail. "Tell me
everything. I can't help you and I sure as hell can't keep Benny safe if you lie to me."
"This upstart crew is trying to push into our territory. They want to take the whores
and the booze and the cigarettes we run. Our captains told us to go out and be seen.
Street presence, you know?"
Dimitri grunted as he merged onto the interstate and his truck gained speed. For
some reason, these street gangs wanted to be so damn flash and showy. There was a
reason they had such a hard time rising above their small-time thievery and whore-
running. Running a successful illicit business took finesse and secrecy, something Johnny
and his cohorts lacked.
What they didn't lack? Violence.
"A white SUV turned down the street, passed right by us, and then they were
shooting at us. The bullets were tearing through the glass before I even realized what was
happening. I tried to get us out of there but another SUV blocked me in. I jerked the
wheel and took the curb. I didn't make it far before I slammed into a building. The car
caught on fire or maybe the building was on fire. I don't know." He sounded so confused.
"All I know is I managed to climb out the windshield and get out through one of the big
windows on the side of the building."
"And you left the car behind? And your friends?"
"They were dead. Dead!" Scared shitless, Johnny started to cry. "I couldn't save
them."
Dimitri wasn't about to console him. He'd warned Johnny countless times that this
was the life of violence that awaited him. Now the dumb kid had seen firsthand the kind
of destruction and hell the gang life created.
He sniffed and wiped at his face with the back of his hand. "Are you really taking
me to a doctor?"
Dimitri frowned. "Why the hell would you ask me that?"
"Maybe you're thinking you can finally get rid of me and have Benny all to yourself.
You just pop me in the back of the head and tell Benny I died in surgery."
Enraged that Johnny would even suggest something so dishonorable, Dimitri
reached over and slapped the little bastard on the back of the head. "What do you think I
am? A monster? I've never killed anyone outside the battlefield. I don t intend to start
with your sorry ass."
"Okay! All right! I'm sorry."
"Sorry? You're an ungrateful little shit." Gritting his teeth, Dimitri fought the urge to
smack him again. "Do you have any idea what I'm risking to help you tonight? Huh?"
Eventually, Johnny said, "Yes."
"And do you know why I'm doing it?"
"Because you're in love with my sister."
"Yes. I love Benny. I'll do anything for her, even if it means getting knee-deep in this
Hermanos bullshit you've stirred up tonight."
"I didn't start this!"
"It doesn't matter, Johnny. You chose to be part of it. No one put a gun to your head
and made you join this gang. You could have had a different life. You chose this one."
"I just wanted to belong to something."
"Now you do belong to something," Dimitri coldly replied. "You belong to a [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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