If The Seas Catch Fire(111)

“My God,” Dom whispered.

Sergei exhaled, then took a deep breath and rolled his shoulders. “After that, I got my hands on my uncle’s pistol, and I found the men who’d threatened my father to start with. And I shot them.”

Dom blinked. “Wait, you killed them when you were fifteen?”

Sergei nodded. “My cousins had taught me to shoot, and I decided to put that to use. Once I took those *s down, I realized I could do it, and I decided I was going to kill everyone who’d been involved in what happened to my family.” He met Dom’s gaze. “At first, I didn’t want to take down the entire Mafia.” Sergei laughed dryly. “I mean, I don’t think God Himself could bring them all down and keep them down—another family just pops up to take the last one’s place. But I did realize I couldn’t stop until I’d destroyed the Maisanos and the Cusimanos. And once I saw that the Passantinos were f*cked up, I put them on my list too. Whoever comes in to fill the void, well, not much I can do about that. But those three? Done.” Sergei exhaled, shaking his head. “I just don’t know what to do now. If you’re not dead soon, then I will be.”

“Then take the money I gave you,” Dom said. “And get the hell out of this place.”

“I don’t need the money. I actually have a bit of an insurance policy. I’ve got a place out of the country. And money squirreled away in about a dozen offshore accounts.”

Dom nodded. “Go, then. Blow town and get the f*ck out of here.”

“Dom.” Sergei exhaled. “I’m in love with you. I want you to stay alive, and I want to stay alive myself, but I didn’t come this far to walk away and leave the Maisanos standing.”

For a long time, Dom didn’t speak. Finally, though, he held Sergei a little tighter and said, “Look, I don’t know what our next move should be. I say we sleep on it for now, and in the morning… we’ll figure something out.”

“Do you think you can sleep?”

“It’s worth trying.”



*



Unsurprisingly, Sergei didn’t sleep much. He dozed off for a little while, long enough for a few nightmares, and woke up feeling like he hadn’t slept in weeks.

But then he was suddenly wide awake—the bed was empty.

He looked around. Dom wasn’t in the bedroom. His heart sped up. Had Dom slipped out during the night? Run like hell the way any sane man would with a contract on his head?

Sergei quickly grabbed a pair of shorts off his dresser, pulled them on, and went looking through the rest of his apartment.

He found Dom on the back patio, sitting on the edge and gazing out at the morning sky.

You idiot. You shouldn’t have stayed.

God, I’m glad you’re here.

As Sergei stepped out through the sliding glass door, Dom turned. Then he rose.

“Hey,” Dom said. “I didn’t want to wake you up. Sounded like you’d finally fallen asleep.”

“Yeah.” Sergei shrugged. “Sort of. You want some coffee?”

“Sure. Yeah.”

They went into the kitchen. Despite the daylight casting an entirely different set of shadows and colors on the plain white cabinets and dingy laminate, there was no ignoring that this was where he and Dom had stood last night. Where Sergei had confessed the truth, and they’d brawled until Dom had calmed down. On the cabinet beside the oven, there was a smear of dried blood. His? Dom’s? No way of knowing. Not that it mattered.

His mind going a million directions, Sergei went through the motions of starting some coffee.

“So,” Dom said. “I’ve, uh, been thinking about our situation.”

Sergei’s hands stopped. In an instant, he couldn’t remember how to work the coffee maker, and didn’t really need the caffeine anyway. Facing Dom, he said, “Okay?”

Dom stared at the floor for a moment before meeting Sergei’s gaze. “I think we need to come to terms with some things that are out of our hands at this point.”

“Such as?”

“My cousin wants me dead. He’s going to make sure it happens. That’s…” He paused. “That’s why they called in the best for the job.”

Sergei winced, forcing back the bile climbing his throat.

Dom took a deep breath. “The contract is out. One way or another, I’m a dead man, and if you aren’t the one to pull the trigger, you will be too.”

It took a second to read between the lines, but when Sergei realized what he was getting at, he jerked away from Dom’s grasp and stepped back. “Don’t even say it, Dom. I won’t. I can’t.”

“You need to.”

“Fuck no. I can’t do it, Dom. I don’t…” Sergei shoved a hand through his hair and started pacing across the kitchen, which seemed almost too small for pacing now that there was a broad-shouldered Sicilian standing in it. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I don’t think you have much choice.”

“No. No f*cking way. You’re—”

“Sergei, listen to me.” Dom closed his hands around Sergei’s shoulders. “I’m dead no matter what. At least I can—” He winced, then softly added, “At least I can trust you to make it quick.” His eyebrows rose slightly, as if to ask, Right?