I left because becoming a doctor was the only way I felt I could redeem myself.
I was always afraid that the guilt of what happened to my friend Lila would stay with me, festering deep inside of me like an incurable infection.
I trace my finger over the scar, a shiver scuttling down my spine.
When I decided to go into medicine, I thought I could make up for what happened by helping others in need.
I’d never get back what I lost, but maybe I could prevent any other losses.
The logic might be a little flawed but it made me feel like I was doing something unlike that day, when I couldn’t do anything.
Uncle Frank pulls up in front of the large estate home of my father’s lawyer, James Borelli. He turns to me with a sigh. “Kristina, I know how hard this is, and it’s more on you than anyone. But you have to trust that I can help you through this. We can get through it together.”
I force a smile. “I know. And I do trust you.”
My uncle is pretty much the only family we have since Mom’s relatives are all in Russia. He’s always been good to us, and I know he wants what’s best for the three of us.
I trust him more than anyone.
I just don’t trust whoever is still out there.
And if they got to my parents, they can get to the rest of us unless I hire a professional.
But I decide to pocket that for the time being.
I take a deep breath as I gaze up at the sprawling home. As the executor of my parents’ estate, Uncle Frank is accompanying us to the reading of the will.
The will.
I haven’t given one thought to how the hell you draw up a will for an illicit empire. I mean, how does that even work? Besides, I would imagine that most of his assets are tied up with the syndicate. I don’t know much about his business activities, but I would guess that they pool a lot of their resources together.
I just hope that there’s enough left over so that I can take care of the house and bills and school for me and the girls and whatever they need. Once I finally do get my degree, I’ll be more than capable of handling my own finances.
And so ready to leave this part of my life behind me.
Permanently.
The loud roar of an engine jolts me, and I twist around to see a black Mustang tear around a corner and fly down the street.
I squint as it speeds down the otherwise tranquil street like a gleaming black bullet.
The windshield is opaque and the license plate…
There is no license plate.
The car slows down in front of the house, and the passenger side window opens a crack.
Horror grips me tight when I see the barrel of a gun appear in the open space. I freeze, too shocked to move. My feet grow roots, firmly implanted into the ground like I’ve just wandered into a puddle of thick tar.
I scream, the sound jarring my body into action. I leap at my sisters, tackling them to the ground, pressing them into the wet grass. In my periphery, I see Uncle Frank do the same to cover his own ass.
So much for protection.
Pop! Crack!
The girls shriek and the tires of the Mustang squeal and screech, the scent of burning rubber assaulting my nostrils as the car blasts off like a rocket down the street. I jump up once I’m sure the girls are unharmed and run over to my uncle who is on his hands and knees on the pavement, panting and sputtering as he chokes down oxygen. I fall to the ground next to him, my hand on his back.
“Oh my God! Are you hit?”
He shakes his head. “No,” he rasps. “They got my car…” His voice trails off when he points to the Mercedes.
I can barely speak because my heart is so far up in my chest, and only tiny bits of air can squeeze through.
“Who is they?” I finally manage to squeak out the words.
Uncle Frank staggers to his feet, surveying the car. “I don’t know. But they blew the driver’s side tires. Front and back.”
I sit back on my heels, trying to make sense of this latest assault, narrowing my eyes at my uncle. The shots were fired and he dove down to protect himself while I blanketed my sisters.
“You didn’t even look to make sure we were okay before you got out of the way of the shots,” I seethe. “Did you even think for a second that one of us could have been shot? Is this how you plan to keep us safe? By covering your own ass while I keep tabs on my sisters?”
He recoils, a look of surprise on his face.
But is it feigned?
“It happened so quickly. And you were closer to them. I saw you force them to the ground.” he says, helping the girls off the grass. “That’s the only reason why I stayed put. I knew you have them covered.”
I rub the sides of my head.
I shouldn’t be such a bitch. It caught us all off-guard.
But the other, meaner and judgmental part of me isn’t as forgiving.
He was concerned about saving his own ass, not any of ours.
I need to trust him, but can I?
I drag myself off the ground and rush the girls up to the house while behind us, Uncle Frank stalks up toward the house, the air thick with his wrath. “Those motherfuckers are going to pay! Do you know how much those tires cost?”
“Are you seriously grousing about your tires right now? When we have killers hunting us?” I say in a loud whisper so as not to alarm the girls any more than they already are.
Uncle Frank’s lips pull into a tight line, his face flushed with color as he sputters an unintelligible response.
The front door of the house flies open before I can ring the bell and James appears, his thick, dark eyebrows furrowed as he peers outside at the street. I remember him from the funeral, although we didn’t exchange more than a few words.
“Did I just hear gunshots?” James says. “What the hell happened?”
But before any of us can answer, police sirens wail in the distance and James frowns, ushering us inside of the house. “Let’s get you out of sight. Frank, pull your car up the hill and get it out of the street fast before the cops show up.”
Uncle Frank opens the door and scrambles down the steps, running to his car.
I narrow my eyes at James. “I came here today with my family in good faith to talk about this will, and we were attacked right outside your door. You don’t look shocked at all. What in the hell is going on?”
“The information I have to share with you is only going to make your lives more difficult, Kristina. And there are a lot of people out for blood and money because of your father’s business dealings. You need to be more vigilant, especially now.”
I press my fingertips to my temples, but the throbbing doesn’t cease.
Christ, will it ever?
The girls huddle together, clinging to one another. Their eyes pool with tears, teeth chattering. My heart hurts watching them.
So much pain, so much loss.
And danger hiding in every dark corner, just waiting for a chance to pounce.
I’m the one who needs to pull everything back under my control, corralling the horror before it has a chance to spiral and swallow us whole.
It would be nice to not be under attack for once, to get a reprieve from the sickos lurking, so I need to figure out exactly how the fuck to do that.
“Did anyone know we were coming here today?” I demand. “Did you tell anyone?”
James shakes his head. “It’s more likely that someone followed you here. I keep my special client meetings logged in an encrypted schedule file. My assistant doesn’t even have access.”