Page 75 of Vows of Blood
“Okay, okay,” she says with a sigh. She stands up and walks around the long, circular desk. “I’ll take a look.”
She comes walking into the room with Fingers right behind her. I watch as she opens the door, then looks back at me suspiciously. “Doesn’t smell too bad in here.”
“Like you can tell anything from the door,” I say, crossing my arms.
She and Fingers exchange a glance, then the both of them go into the bathroom. The second Fingers crosses the threshold, I rushup and close the door behind them, shoving a chair under the door.
And then I run. I run for the elevators and pray the whole way there that I don’t run into any more of my father’s goons. He’ll probably hear the commotion, wake up, and call a nurse to come in and let them out. I’ve maybe only got a couple of minutes before that happens.
I decide to take the stairs with that in mind. I rush down, jumping them three and four at a time before I get to the ground floor. As I open the door into the lobby, I start walking briskly, frantically looking around for anyone who might be looking for me. I get halfway to the doors leading out to the parking lot before I hear the elevator ding behind me.
I run. I just run and I keep running. I’ve got to get there. That’s all there is to it. I have to get to Maxim Mechnikov’s house. As soon as I reach the end of the lot, I see a taxi idling on the side of the street. I wave him down and thankfully, he pulls up to me. As I get in and tell the cabby the address, I dare a look back at the hospital door. Just as the taxi pulls off, I see Fingers running outside, looking for me.
It’s too late. I’m on the way to stop this fucking war.
28
ALEXEI
Iwatch the gates to my father’s house open. I wonder what he’ll think when he sees me, clothes torn, half covered in blood. I don’t know if Anya made it back here or if he knows anything about what’s happened. I wish I could have called him first. He could start getting things in motion before I arrived. Maybe get more security.
As of this moment, the security looks to be about the same as it usually is. I see his people patrolling the gates and front yard, but nothing more than that. He probably has no idea that I was attacked. He’ll be livid when he sees me and will probably want Pecora’s head. It’s going to be a fight to convince him that the real danger to us all is much closer than Tony Pecora.
I pull up to the curb in front of the house and immediately notice Pavel’s car. Shit. He’s probably in there pouring poison in his ear about me. Probably telling him that I left entirely and need to be hunted down and punished. He probably…
Shit. The revelation hits me like a hammer to the chest. Pavel doesn’t have to tell Father to come after me when Pecora’s familywas already looking for me. And he knew exactly where they could find me.
I get out of the car and slam the door angrily. I can’t wait to see the look on that fucker’s face when I walk through the door.
I don’t pay too much attention to the guy at the door. I walk past him and to my father’s office. If he’s not there, I’ll wait for him. But if he is… and if Pavel’s there…
I get to my father’s door and hear voices inside. I hear my father ask Pavel, “Have you heard anything about Alexei yet?”
“No,” Pavel responds. “But it’s still early. I’m sure we’ll hear something soon.”
Right. You sure will.
I open the door. Both men turn to look at me and for just a moment, I see genuine shock in Pavel’s eyes. He blinks, then smiles at me. “Alexei,” he says. “You’re here. Papa and I were just?—”
I don’t give him the chance to speak. I walk right up to him and punch him in the face.Hard.He stumbles backward into the wall, covering his mouth and staring back at me in bewildered shock. A trail of blood immediately drips through his fingertips.
“Alexei,” my father says, his voice booming. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
I grab Pavel by the collar, yanking him close to my face. “You really thought you could get away with trying to kill me?” I growl at him.
“Get your hands off me!” He struggles against my grip, but I hold him fast.
“I am yourbrother!Your fucking blood, you honorless piece of shit!”
“That is enough!” My father’s voice breaks through to me as he comes between us, pushing me hard in the chest, breaking my grip on Pavel. I let him go, but I’m pacing the room. The only thing keeping me from beating him to a pulp is Father as he stands between us.
“What’s all this about?” He glances down at my shirt, observing the splatters of blood. “What the fuck happened to you?”
“He tried to have me killed,” I tell him. “My own brother tried to have me killed a second time. Perhaps even a third if you count Pecora’s attempt on my life.”
My father doesn’t respond. He stares at me, his mouth tightening in a straight line.
“That’s not even the worst of it,” I go on. “That sonofabitch arranged this entire fucking war! He set Damon Pecora up and had him murdered knowing that Tony Pecora would find out he was indebted to us. He was expecting Pecora to hand over his empire and when he didn’t, he tried to have me killed so that you would blame him and green light a war.”
