(2012) Blood on Blood (26 page)

And for the first time in my life, I knew rage.

The thing is, after Jerzy left the room with the diamonds, most of the hot rush I’d experienced subsided. My rage wasn’t red and intoxicating. It was white and calculating. And fearless.

I didn’t care about consequences any more. I cared about results. I was going to kill that motherfucker. The diamonds didn’t matter nearly as much as his existence leaving this earth.

But how? My advantage with him was speed, and he’d taken that away when he cracked my ribs. He was bigger and probably stronger. He had the edge.

Then I realized that he didn’t. Not anymore. I had the edge because I didn’t care what happened to me. Jerzy was a classic narcissistic sociopath. He always wanted to win, but survive. My goal wasn’t survival, it was to kill him. If I could strap a bomb to my chest and blow us both up right now, I would.

But where? That was the more important question. Where in the hell did he go? And how could I find—

“Good Lord, my son! What have you done?”

I looked up to see the young priest staring at me, shocked.

“Father,” I started to say, but he interrupted.

“Have you no respect for the departed?” he asked me.

“I didn’t do this,” I said.

“You’re covered in the remains of that poor soul,” the priest said, incredulous. “How can you kneel there and lie to me? Here, in the house of God?”

I swallowed thickly. “My brother did this, father. Not me.”

“For what purpose?”

I hesitated, then shook my head. “It’s too complicated to explain.”

“Most things are, until you break them down.” He shook his head at me and pointed. “But I think you’d better explain, before I decide to call the police. Disturbing the dead, even the cremated once interred, is a felony.”

I almost laughed at him then. A felony? He was full of shit, but that wasn’t the funny part. How many felonies had I committed in the last week? All that time I spent over the last few years trying to live a right life, and in the end, it doesn’t really matter, does it?

Instead, I said, “Father, my brother is an evil man. He hated my mother because our dad loved her more than his mother. And because dad wanted to be beside her after he died.”

I pointed to the shelf where Gar’s urn stood. The priest followed my gaze, then looked back at me. His expression was flat, but he was listening.

“The old man’s death pushed him over the edge,” I continued, the partial lie spilling out easily. “He couldn’t deal with the anger. He knew Gar left an item with my mom. He took it.”

“What did he leave her?”

“A trinket. A small piece of jewelry. It matched the cross that he leaned against her urn.”

The priest nodded. “Aye, I remember the little cross.”

“I have to get it back, father,” I said earnestly.

The priest was quiet for a moment. Then, he said in a whisper. “Yes, I suppose you do, lad. I suppose you do.”

“Will you help me?”

He cocked his head at me curiously. “How can
I
help?”

“Do you have a car, father?”

“I do, but—”

“Can I borrow it?”

He hesitated. I waited. Then he shrugged. “Aye. If it be God’s will.”

As soon as I was away from the church, I took out my phone and called Ania. She answered and I could immediately feel the tension crackling across the connection.

“What’s happened?” she asked.

“Jerzy has the diamonds.”

“Oh, God.”

“Where are you?”

“I’m…I’m at the Holiday Inn Express. Damen and Armitage.”

“What room?”

“Three forty.”

“Is that Jerzy’s room?”

She hesitated, and I knew it was.

“Get out of there,” I said. “He’s probably coming there now.”

“I…I can’t,” she said. “Even if I run, he’ll find me. I can’t hide from him my whole life.”

“If you leave Chicago—”

“Mick, you have to help me.” Her voice was breathless and bordering on panic. “You have to save me. Come to the hotel.”

“I’m already on the way.”

“Thank you,” she gushed.

I’m not coming for you,
I started to say. But then I knew it wasn’t entirely true. I was coming for it all. Revenge on Jerzy. A fuck you to the old man. The diamonds. Ania. All of it.

A new life.

“Keep him talking,” I told her, “until I get there.”

“Hurry,” she said, and I could tell she was crying. “I’m so scared, Mick. I never should have taken up with someone like him. I should have—”

“It’ll be all right,” I told her. “Just keep him talking.”

“I will. But hurry, Mick. Please hurry.”

The connection broke, and I drove faster.

TWENTY-SEVEN

Jerzy

On the elevator up to the room, I still can’t believe what I’ve got wrapped in this handkerchief. I’m thinking Florida might be the ticket as a place for us to go. For a whole shitload of reasons. Just one of them being I know a few guys down in South Beach.

The money is all over the place down there. Some young and stupid, but some smart money, too. Needs to be a quiet deal. These things will go for some big dollars to the right guy. A serious collector or a reseller who will turn them around again.

The elevator dings on the third floor and I head for our room. I shouldn’t, but I just gotta show her these babies. Maybe even let her hold them up in the mirror like she’s wearing them. I want to see her eyes when she’s doing that.

I slide the room card in and open the door. She should have bolted it. There is a small entryway with the bathroom on the left and the main area further in. Shades are all drawn but every light is on. The bathroom door is shut and I can hear water running in there. Not the sink but the tub. It’s fuckin’ gushing.

“Hey, babe!” Sounds like a waterfall in there.

No answer.

“Ania?” I put my ear to the door and try to listen over the water. “ANIA?” I say it loud, right next to the closed door and then try the knob. It’s locked. I glance down at the strip of light under the door. At least there’s no water on the floor. I jiggle the door handle again.

“Jerzy?” Her voice sounds frazzled and I hear the water shut off. I also realize I can breathe again. I was actually scared something had happened to her. What the fuck is up with that? Why can’t I control that with her?

You know why, dumb ass
.

Most of the time I like that inner voice. Sometimes, though, not so much.

“Yeah, babe. Me.”

I shake my head back and forth slowly, knowing I’m totally hooked on her. It’s like I’ve said all along, that ain’t a good thing. Then again, I can’t stop grinning.

“Everything all right in there?”

“Oh my God. You scared the shit out of me.”

“Hey, I’m a sneaky bastard. Now let me in.” I’m still grinning like a chimp.

“I just got in the tub, baby. Trying to soak out the tension. I’m so nervous I’m about to jump out of my skin.”

“Let me in and we’ll soak together.”

“This isn’t the Hilton Suite yet, hon. I can barely squeeze into this thing by myself.” There was a little splashing around. “Give me twenty minutes or so?”

“Fifteen, tops. Then I’m coming in whether you open it up or I bust the door down.” I put my forehead on the door and slowly bump it twice.

“Sooo…is everything all right? I mean, even though it didn’t turn out like you wanted today?” She says and then there’s more splashing. ”Are you okay? That’s what I mean.”

“Oh yeah. I’m okay, we’re both okay.”

“That kinda sounds better than just okay.” She giggled and I heard more water being run now. “This hot water feels so good but I won’t be long. Promise.”

“I have a little surprise here waiting for you. I want you to see something, babe.” As I’m talking, I look down and unfold the cloth. They looked even bigger now. “You got twelve minutes before I come in there like it’s a damn DEA bust.”

“So we’re checking out of here, right?”

“You bet. We’ll head over to the Hilton, get Patrik’s present, have dinner, hit the road tomorrow morning. Driving too. Travel light. Early. We’ll buy whatever we need, and then some, when we get there.”

“I can’t wait, baby. Where we going?”

“Florida. Hey, I’ll throw my shit together in the bag while I’m waiting for your highness here.”

A little more splashing.

“Already done. I needed to stay busy, so we’re both packed and ready to go. I don’t really have much of anything with me, anyway.”

I pace into the area where the bed is, see my bag, her big ass purse and some other shit piled on a chair in the corner. I come back to the bathroom door.

“Done yet?”

“Jerzy…c’mon! Just relax for a minute. Why don’t you turn on the television or something?”

“The television?” I laugh at the door. “Right. I haven’t watched any TV since I was in a cell and I won’t be starting now.”

The water comes on again.

“Jesus, you got a sauna going on in there or what? The steam is rolling out from under the door here.”

“Patience.” She laughs again. “Almost finished.”

“Yeah, yeah. Ten minutes and counting. Prepare to be surprised…and assaulted.”

TWENTY-EIGHT

Mick

I pulled up in front of the hotel and parked outside the main doors like I was checking in. I walked into the lobby and straight to the elevator. My body was singing with adrenaline. The pain in my ribs seemed to fade. As amped as I felt, my body seemed to have an athletic looseness to it. I felt like I was ready to run the race of my life.

And win.

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. An arrow on the wall put room 340 to the left. I walked down the hallway a short distance and stopped in front of the door.

Jerzy was on the other side of this door. So were the diamonds. And Ania. Everything I’d wanted this past week, everything I’d wanted my whole
life
, was on the other side of this door. All I had to do was take it.

I stepped forward and gave the door a hard boot, right beside the handle. I’d taken down more than a few doors when I was with the cops and this was no different. The wooden doorjamb shattered right at the latch. The door flew inward and I came in right behind it.

Jerzy stood next to the bathroom, his hand raised to knock on the closed door. His face registered surprise. I took another step and drove my foot into his stomach.

He staggered backward, bumping into the corner of a table. That tripped him up and he tumbled to the ground. He rebounded to his knees. Before he could stand, I moved forward, throwing another kick. This one caught him flush in the chin, snapping his head back. He fell over backward.

I pounced on him, reaching for his throat. He raised his hands weakly, trying to fend me off. His eyes were dazed, but they cleared quickly. That animalistic anger settled back into those eyes and his hands reached up to mine.

I squeezed.

He let go and punched me in the ribs again. The pain ricocheted through my body. I struggled to keep my grip on his throat, but his huge hands grabbed onto my wrists and pried my fingers free.

His knee slid upward toward my groin, but I slipped sideways to avoid the blow. His foot found purchase on my thigh and he pushed upward with his leg and arms.

I flew up and back, landing comically on the king size bed.

Jerzy flipped over and scrambled toward the gym bag in the corner.

Gun. He had to be going for a gun.

I slid off the edge of the bed and took a step toward him.

“Jerzy.”

She’d come out of the bathroom. Her voice wasn’t frantic any longer. It was hard.

Jerzy stopped and looked over his shoulder at her. Then he smiled a mean smile. “That’s my girl,” he said. Then he glanced over at me. “Time’s up, Hero. You’re fucked now—”

There was a concussive barking sound, along with a distinct clacking. At the same time, the top part of Jerzy’s head disappeared in a red spray of blood and bone. He flopped to the ground, coming to rest on his side. He was looking right at me, eyes wide open. He blinked once, his right hand jerked and he blinked once more slowly. Then it was done. His fixed stare was full of dull hate and disbelief.

I let out a sigh of relief that was more of a groan and limped around the corner.

Ania’s back was to me as she closed the door to the room and swung the safety latch to keep it in place. Then she turned around.

I expected her to be afraid or at least wary that perhaps Jerzy might rise up like some kind of zombie or something. But her pale blue eyes were calm and resolute. The gun dangled in her hand, a small tendril of smoke rising from the silencer.

“You did it,” I said. “It’s over.”

Ania walked toward me, her steps firm, her expression flat and emotionless. Steam swirled at her feet as she walked past the bathroom door.

A small pang of sadness struck a chord in my gut.

She didn’t say word. She didn’t have to.

I closed my eyes.

TWENTY-NINE

California

The open road was the only place she truly felt at home. She drove the Miata west on a secondary highway. Not fast, but not dawdling, either. Nothing suspicious. Nothing more than a hot blonde in a small convertible on a road trip. No one would guess what she had wrapped up in a handkerchief, hidden underneath the spare tire in the trunk.

The paper grocery bag sat on the floor of the passenger seat, the top folded neatly down. Pretty plain wrapping, but it held over two hundred kay.

That had been gravy, the money. And the easiest part. Finding the slip of paper in Jerzy’s wallet. She knew it was a combination, and what else could it be for, if not the room safe at the Hilton? Jerzy was so predictable. Patrik had said so, but she didn’t realize how right he was until the end.

And now she had Patrik’s money and the diamonds, too. She had a vision of the ugly gangster waiting for her at one of his safe houses, all coked up and horny for her. He probably wanted the money more, but now he wasn’t going to get either one.

“Just stay close to him. Keep an eye on things,” he’d told her just before Jerzy came into Ambrozy’s that first time. “He’s a wild card. I need to know he’s on task. And after it is over, and we get my money back, I will take you on a long vacation. You won’t want to come back.”