Page 87 of Deceitful Oath
I freeze, wondering if this is carbon monoxide poisoning.Doesn’t that cause hallucinations? I swear that’s Rafael’s voice.
I call back for him, and he responds directly from the other side of the door. The handle jiggles and stops. Frustrated, I scream his name and kick the door hard. I hear something about shooting the lock and scamper out of the way, pulling myself up to lean on a desk.
The door flies open, and Rafael is standing in front of me, looking like a wild animal. The ferocity in his eyes scares me for a second, but my body moves toward him of its own accord. Suddenly, a dark figure appears behind him. I try to scream his name, but it’s too late.
Carlo smashes him across the head with the butt of his gun and Rafael drops to the ground. I scream bloody murder, gripping the desk behind me so hard that my nails dig into the wood.
“Carlo, why are you doing this?” I cry, clinging to the table for dear life. He aims the gun at my face and I resist the urge to duck. If he wants to kill me, he can easily do it. My feet are bound, I’m not getting away easily.
Think, think, think.
“This has nothing to do with you, Lux,” he pants as the smoke curls around him, making him cough. “You got caught in the crossfire, which is a shame. I always liked you…till you got yourself involved with this riffraff.”
He takes a step toward me and I shrink back against the table. My hand bumps something smooth and solid. I curl my fingers around it, slowly dragging it closer. It feels like a marble paperweight of some kind, and an idea hits me.
Rafael twitches on the ground, moving his head slightly. I pray for him to stay silent, for Carlo not to notice that he’s regaining consciousness.
“Carlo, you don’t have to do this,” I plead, stalling for time. The paperweight is heavy and large, and my fingers slip as I try to grip it. “Can’t you call a truce or something?”
“It’s too late for that,” he snarls, taking another step toward me. “He killed too many of my family tonight. That doesn’t go unpunished. Now, I want him to watch me kill the one person he loves.”
“He’s dead, Carlo,” I cry, finally palming the marble brick. “He can’t see anything anymore. You got what you wanted.”
Rafael lifts his head off the ground, trying to pull himself up. He groans in pain, and Carlo is momentarily distracted, swinging around to face him. I take my chances and hurl the paperweight at his head as hard as I can.
The corner catches his eye, sending him off-kilter. He tries to shoot, but the gun goes flying, sending the bullet into the hallway. I rush him, hopping on both feet and tackle him to the ground as he screams in agony. But I don’t give a single flying fuck about his pain.
“Rafael!” I call, reaching for him. He’s moving slowly, like he’s in a daze. He crawls to me as Carlo lashes out, trying to wrap his hands around my throat. I fight back, clawing at his face, feeling his blood pooling under my fingernails.
The room recedes and everything fades away. All I see is Carlo’s evil face in front of me, his fingers around my neck. I’m screaming and snarling, scratching and hitting him, trying to pull myself away.
Suddenly, a pair of strong arms lift me off his body. I hear ribs crack as a hard boot lands against his side.
Carlo screams. A shot rings out and I panic.
Who’s holding me? Who shot who?
I kick and scream, trying to twist out of the arms.
“Lux, Lux, calm down, calm down, it’s okay,” a voice soothes me. But it’s not Rafael’s voice so I keep fighting.
“Rafael, help me out here?” the voice booms behind me, and Rafael appears in front of me, clutching his head.
“Shh, Luxy, it’s okay, Rocco’s got you.”
The fight goes out of me and my body turns limp in Rocco’s arms. All I care about is that Rafael is standing in front of me, alive. He’s covered in blood, but so am I. I wrap my arms around him, pulling him close, creating a Lux sandwich with Rocco behind us.
“It’s okay, sunshine, it’s okay, I’m here,” he whispers in my ear, stroking my hair. Tears flow down my face and I can’t stop them.
“Better we get out of here sooner than later,” Rocco advises behind me. “Can you make it, Rafael?”
“Lux, Rocco’s going to carry you to the car,” Rafael says, his voice serious and strained. “The fire is out of control. We don’t have much time.”
I nod, wiping the snot and tears off my face. Rocco hoists me over his shoulder gently, and we stumble down the stairs.
Thick, black smoke fills the house. I try to cover my nose and mouth as best as I can, feeling sorry for Rocco. His arms are wrapped around my thighs, holding me tightly.
I gaze at the carnage as we head out the back door. Bodies lay strewn about, blood seeping into the plush white carpet. Sparks fly as the fire blazes through the main floor of the house, the perfect cleaning service for a bloodbath.