Chapter 24
The sound inside the small apartment was deafening. Gunpowder overwhelmed the odor of boiled cabbage. Zo stepped across the bodies. His eyes, black and stripped of warmth, found Tessa. She was pressed against the wall, trembling, surrounded by blood and broken plaster. Gabe emerged from the bedroom, breathing heavily and wiping blood from his mouth. He looked at the bodies. Then at Zo. “Boss, you were supposed to be at the Commission.” “The Commission can wait.” Zo’s voice was terrifyingly calm. He holstered his gun and crossed to Tessa. He did not ask whether she was all right. He did not offer comfort. He seized her arm with a firm, unyielding grip and pulled her from the wall. “We are leaving.” Tessa stumbled beside him. She looked at the bodies. At blood spreading across cheap linoleum. At the man holding her arm. The man who had killed 2 people without hesitation. She understood with absolute clarity that the safety of the Rossi estate was purchased with blood.
And she was now part of the ledger. They returned to the estate in complete silence. Gabe remained behind with the cleanup crew. Zo brought Tessa through the mudroom, bypassed the staff, and took her directly to the third floor. The heavy oak door of his study closed behind them. Only then did he release her arm. Zo crossed to the wet bar. He poured 2 fingers of scotch. His hand was perfectly steady. He swallowed the drink in 1 motion and set the glass down hard against the mahogany. Tessa remained standing in the middle of the room. The adrenaline was fading. In its place came coldness. Emptiness. Shaking. She still held the manila envelope and the splintered remains of the jewelry box. “Mia is in her room with Carmine,” Zo said without facing her. “She didn’t hear anything. She doesn’t know.” Tessa nodded even though he could not see her. She swallowed. “Thank you for coming.” Zo turned. The violence was leaving his body now, replaced by a grim, cynical exhaustion.
