Kiss Of Death: A Dark Mafia Romance

Nero

It’s cold as fuck. I’m sitting in a car with Gio in the passenger seat, and we’re parked at the side of a narrow country road that’s halfway hidden under the cover of the forest. Snow falls all around us, and even though I can see my breath in front of my face, we can’t turn the engine on.

The deal I made with Sasha was vague at best. He would help me. Help Una. But I had to stop the killings, lay low and wait for him to contact me. So, I agreed, and he went back to Russia with an authentic looking bullet hole in his shoulder. It hasn’t been easy. It’s been weeks and everything has been eerily quiet. Doing nothing has felt like a slow torture.

Sasha’s message was simple. A set of co-ordinates and a time and date, along with the instruction to stay out of sight until the time is right. That was it. I don’t know what we’re waiting for, or when that right time will be, but we have ten minutes until whatever is supposed to be happening will happen. Of course, the co-ordinates were for just outside Smolensk, near the Russia and Belarus border.

I’m on edge because we’re in Russia. I can only hope that means Una has somehow escaped. The ten minutes come and go, and I’m getting more and more agitated when we see a set of headlights round the corner. We’ve been here for nearly an hour and I haven’t seen one car on this road. The car passes us and pulls into a shallow shoulder before it cuts its engine.

Gio glances at me. “Sasha could have been a little more informative,” he remarks.

I keep my eyes locked on that car. No one gets out. It just sits there. And then, a few minutes later, another set of headlights. A truck. It slows as it approaches and pulls into the shoulder behind the car. The doors of the car open and two guys get out, both armed with rifles.

“I guess this is it,” Gio says.

I take my gun from its spot on the dashboard. “Go in fast and hard. They won’t be expecting us.” He nods, palming his gun as we get out. The powdery snow silences our footfalls. We follow the tree line until we’re right across the road from the truck. Two men have gotten out of it and the group of four are approaching the back of the vehicle. There’s the loud clatter of the roller door being lifted, and then I hear it, a tiny cry coming from the back of that truck. The cry of a baby. I’m running across that road before the men have even really registered it. I shoot two of them before a rifle is pointed my way. Gio is right behind me though, taking them out. I get to the back of the truck and look inside. It’s dark, but I can make out shelves, stacked with weapons, boxes of ammo and supplies. And in the corner, the source of that tiny cry. I jump inside and get out my phone, turning on the torch. There’s a black duffel bag hidden behind crates of explosives. I can’t think about that now though. I unzip the bag, and there, wrapped in several blankets is a tiny baby. My baby.

I pick up the scrap of paper that’s tucked into the blanket and read over the messy writing.

I cannot help Una, but she will be fine. Look after her son. He is her happiness.

I swallow the lump in my throat and scoop up my baby, my boy, holding him to my chest. I owe Sasha a debt that I can never repay. Jumping down from the back of the truck, I meet Gio’s gaze. A soft smile pulls at his lips as he glances at the bundle of blankets screaming in my arms.

“She did it,” he says.

“Yeah, she did.” Now I can only hope that this wasn’t a sacrifice. As I hold him in my arms, I’ve never loved Una more. I need her. He needs her. I will protect our son with my life until she comes home. She promised me.

“Blow up the truck.” I step over bodies as I head back to the car.