If The Seas Catch Fire(123)

Felice’s shoulders sank lower and lower.

“Okay, I’ll keep an eye on ‘em,” Sergei said. “Should I call the cops or—okay, okay. I won’t. I promise. Right. You bet.” Then he hung up. “Sounds like Cusimano’s on his way.”

“Oh Jesus.” Felice looked up at Dom, and spoke quickly. “Look, just get me out of here. I’ll call off the hit. We—”

“You’ll call off the hit?” Dom laughed. “Well isn’t that nice. And then I suppose we’ll just go on like family? Fuck you, Felice.” He nodded at Sergei.

Sergei tossed the phone to Felice, who caught it in midair with his good hand.

“So you have a choice,” Dom said. “You can wait here for him, or you can call 911 and hope they make it here first.”

Felice laughed. “You want me to call the cops?”

“If you want to.” Dom shrugged. “I was thinking an ambulance would be more appropriate.”

“An—” Felice froze. His gaze slid toward Sergei.

Dom seized his cousin’s momentary distraction, drew his pistol, and fired.

Felice screamed and dropped to the deck, clutching his knee.

“If you call the paramedics now,” Dom said coolly, “they might keep you from bleeding out.” He glanced at this watch. “Probably better not wait too long, though.”

With that, he nodded sharply to Sergei, and they walked off the boat, leaving Felice to bleed and sob beside his enemy’s merchandise.

“Isn’t a shot to the kneecap a bit clichéd?” Sergei mused. “That’s old school Mob, isn’t it?”

“I seem to recall you doing the same thing when we first met.”

Sergei shrugged. “I was merely making a point.”

“So was I. I was making the point that Felice isn’t walking anywhere any time soon.”

“Well played.”





Chapter 35


At the end of the ramp, Sergei paused to sprinkle some cocaine on the wood. A little anonymous tip to the cops, and the drug dogs would come right to—

“Uh, Sergei?”

“Hmm?”

“We’ve got a problem.”

Sergei turned, and his chest tightened as several pairs of headlights filed into the marina parking lot. Already, men were hurrying down the steps toward the main walkway.

Oh f*ck. Someone else must’ve heard them and sounded the alarm. This wasn’t part of the plan.

Time for plan B.

He grabbed Dom’s elbow. “Come on. This—”

“We could just get on a boat.” Dom gestured at their surroundings. “They’ll never find—”

“You remember the big fire this marina had a few years ago?”

“Uh, yeah?”

“That wasn’t a fuel spill. That was your f*cking uncle trying to smoke somebody out. We’re getting out of here.” Sergei gestured toward the sea-end of the dock. “This way.”

“What?” Dom hesitated. “That just goes back out to the water!”

“Trust me!” Sergei broke into a run and didn’t bother looking back. If Dom knew what was good for him, he’d follow.

At the end of the pier, Sergei stopped. A few seconds later, Dom stopped beside him.

“Help me down,” Sergei said.

“Down where? Into the water?”

“No.” Sergei pointed at the shadowy outline of a small dinghy. “Into that.”

“What the hell are we doing? Paddling out to sea and hoping no one sees us?”

“Just shut up and get in.”

Dom sighed, but got in. “How did you even know this was here?”

“Because I put it here as a backup plan. Give me that oar.”

Dom handed it to him.

Using the oar, Sergei carefully guided the dinghy under the dock. Using the pylons as guides, he let the tiny boat glide almost soundlessly across the water beneath the walkway.

Feet clomped across the aging wood, echoing above their heads. Sergei glanced up but couldn’t see much anyway, aside from a few shadows moving past. There were shouts and commotion, and he doubted anyone would hear, but to be safe, he whispered, “It’s going to get shallow down here. As soon as we bottom out, stay low and follow me. There’s a path that goes down by restrooms, and it’ll take us back up to the parking lot without being seen.”

“I get the feeling you’ve done this before.”

“A time or two, yes.” He nudged one of the pylons with the oar to keep the boat going straight. “And it’ll be tempting to move quickly, but go slow in the water.”

“Slow and quiet,” Dom said.

“Exactly.”

Seconds later, the dinghy’s hull ground against the sand and came to a gentle stop. Balancing carefully, Sergei stepped out into the icy water. Then he held the boat still so Dom could get out. Dom didn’t make a sound, not even a hiss when he hit the cold water, and he followed Sergei stealthily toward the shore.

Sergei’s heart was going crazy. When he saw Dom’s car, he was almost giddy with relief—they’d made it.

Squealing tires stopped them in their tracks. They ducked into the trees. Sergei’s throat constricted, but then he realized one of the cars was familiar.