Page 61 of Deceitful Oath
>>I think someone just got shot in the hallway.
My hands shake as I stare stupidly at the three dots on my screen that show she’s typing. Her response pops up three seconds later.
>>Do not call the police. I’ll be there in 15 minutes. Hang tight. Whatever you do, do NOT call the police.
Do not call the police. Do not call the police.
It plays on repeat in my mind and I’m in too much shock to ask why. I respond with an 'Okay',and curl up in a ball onthe floor. Time passes slowly as I sit in a daze, focusing on my breathing.
The door flying open startles me from the fetal position.
“Lux, the damn chain!” Lisa yells, slamming the door closed again. Thinking I hear fear in her voice, I rush to the door, wondering if the shooters are still out there. When I throw the door open again, Lisa busts in, her eyes glowing with fury.
Wait, why is she mad? None of this makes sense.
“Did you see their faces?” she questions, her eyes glowing in the dark. Rob, the chef from The Velvet Room, trails in after her, shaking his head.
“Why is Rob here?” I ask, staring stupidly at them.Weird, I never noticed how similar they look.
She throws me a confused glance and repeats the question.
“No, I didn’t see anything,” I say meekly, pointing to the ceiling. “The power went out.”
“Fuck,” Rob growls and stomps out of the apartment.
“Lisa? What’s happening?”
“Oh Lux,” she brushes me off. “I don’t know why you’re so scared.”
I watch her hazy figure move to the kitchen and fling open the cupboard. She lights a big, fat candle and sets it on the counter. I move closer to the light, creeped out by the darkness and the dead person across the hall.
“I mean, you dated Rafael Romano,” she continues. “I thought you’d be used to the drama that comes with this life by now.”
She heads out the door again, shaking her head.Rafael Romano? Why does that name sound so familiar?I follow her into the hallway just as the lights flip back on and Rob emerges from around the corner.
“They cut the fucking power,” he scoffs. All three of us gaze through the open door across the hall. The man I saw earlier yelling into his phone, lies in a pool of his own blood on the floor.
“Well,” Lisa says, her voice finally taking on a tone of remorse. “They got Vito, may he rest in peace.”
Rafael Romano. You dated Rafael Romano.The memory finally clicks and I gasp.
“Carlo.”
Rob glances at me strangely, misunderstanding me, and nods. “She’s right, Lisa. You need to call Dad.”
Lisa sighs and glares at him, but pulls out her phone and wanders away down the stairs.
“Dad?” I ask, my voice cracking. He can’t possibly mean Carlo is Lisa’s dad…and his dad.
“Shit,” he whistles, shutting the door with the dead body. “Yeah, Dad’s going to be pissed.”
I spin around and hurry into Lisa’s place, searching for my duffle bag.Carlo is Lisa’s dad. A man just got shot and no one cares. Rob and Lisa are siblings. Rafael Romano.
My brain short circuits trying to make sense of it all, and I shove the rest of my things in the bag. I swing it over my shoulder and slip out the door. The hallway is clear, so I slink down the stairs. I should probably avoid everyone involved in this until I figure out what’s going on.
The common area is deserted, so I step outside onto the wide marble porch. I spot Lisa in the parking lot talking animatedly into her phone so I veer in the opposite direction. Cutting across the lawn, I make it to the gate and onto the street in record time.
I’m not sure why I’m running, but something within every fiber of my being is telling me to get the hell out of there. I jog for about two blocks before I get tired and slump onto a bus stop bench. I pull out my phone, not knowing what to do with myself.