Annihilate Them

by Christina Ross

  “But still,” I said.

  “How about if we just toast the moment again?” Cross said. “And leave it at that. For me, the deal is done, as it is for Alex. The rest of it will take care of itself in time. No hurry. Tonight, Alex and I just wanted to surprise you, which I’m pretty sure that we did.” He nodded at Alex. “We got her,” he said.

  “No question. I know my wife, and we blindsided her. And cheers to that,” Alex said as he touched his glass to Rudman’s.

  “So? Success,” Rudman said. “It’s good to see you happy, Jennifer, especially after what happened just a week ago. We need more happiness right now.”

  I didn’t know what to say, but I nevertheless lifted my glass as the five of us toasted the deal.

  “This make me happy,” Epifania said. “It’s like a rainbow landing in the middle of us after a dark week.”

  “That’s a beautiful way to put it,” Cross said to her.

  “Well, it true,” she said. “Something good has happened. My friends are happy. You are happy. That means the world to me, Papi.”

  Cross looked at Epifania for a long moment before he said, “You know, I’ve been in business so long, hearing something like that is generally something that would make me cynical, and yet I know you mean it, Epifania. You really do wish the best for those close to you, don’t you?”

  “Of course I do. Look, Papi, I may be worth the half a billion, but Epifania knows where she come from, OK? She forget none of it. She may have the bling, but the poor girl who fled Cuba to come to America is the woman standing next to you now. There so little good and happiness in this world, whenever I see it, I take hold of it and champion it. Because in this city? Epifania hasn’t found much good or happiness. Sure, she found some—especially in her friends—but true goodness is rare, don’t you think? And don’t you also think that sad? I do. So? Tonight is good. Tonight is gold.”

  “Just like you,” Cross said.

  “Now, you just talking about my dress...”

  “No,” he said as he kissed her lightly on the lips, which almost made me want to leap out of my skin because I could tell that she’d moved him. “I’m talking about you, Epifania. Just you.”

  “Where we go wrong?” she said to him.

  “My divorce. I was a different man then—an uglier one.”

  “Who are you now?”

  “Do you want to take a chance and find out?”

  When she didn’t speak, I knew that she was feeling that her heart was on the line at that moment. I wanted to reach out and hold her hand, but I couldn’t. This was between them.

  “I hear you,” he said. “So? Let’s dance, Epifania. Let me show you who I am now. And then we’ll see what comes of us in the days and weeks and months going forward.”

  AND WE DID DANCE—THE six of us.

  With the music still slow, Tank and Lisa remained on the floor holding each other tightly as Cross, Epifania, Alex, and I moved near them. I caught Lisa’s gaze as Alex and I moved beside them, and felt the love of my best friend pass between us. Then,I turned to look at Alex as he leaned down to my ear.

  “Are you happy?” he asked me. “I didn’t mean to leave you out of the deal—he just happened to call when you were out, and he wanted it nailed down right then. Are you angry with me?”

  Angry with you? Are you serious? “Alex, how could I ever be angry with you?” I said. “You did exactly what you had to do when he called out of the blue. I’m so proud of you. And I’m thrilled that Rudman and you wanted to surprise me with the news. I’m still kind of stunned—but in the best way. I love you so much. Thank you for the surprise. Thank you for these past three years. I’m still over the moon when it comes to you, you know?”

  “Are you?” he asked.

  “I hope that you can feel that I am.”

  “I can feel it,” he said. “Sometimes I just can’t believe it.”

  “Why?”

  It was a moment before he spoke. And when he did, I could tell that he was very close to an edge that even he didn’t want to touch—but somehow had to.

  “Because I’ve been married once before,” he said. “Diana died in a car accident, but well before she did, we already were on the way out. You know that. And it’s that which I don’t ever want us to become. I want us to grow old together, Jennifer. I want to always be your first love—the man you first made love with and whom you’ll always love. But I’m not naive—I know marriage won’t always be easy, even if it does feel weirdly easy with you now. It never was this easy between Diana and me, which has long suggested to me that you are my true soulmate. I hope that you feel that I’m yours—that you know that I’m yours—because I can’t get enough of you, Jennifer. You are the love of my life. You’re everything I’ve ever wished for, everything I thought I’d never be able to find—but somehow did.”

  “Don’t make me cry,” I said to him.

  He held me closer to him. “I don’t mean to.”

  “But I’m going to,” I said as I blinked away tears. I took a breath and then stroked the back of his hair, looked him in the eyes, and said, “I don’t think you’ll ever know what you mean to me.”

  “I feel the same. I try to show it, but I always feel that I come up short.”

  “When have you ever come up short?” I said in his ear. “I mean, look at us right now. The room’s attention and envy is on us for good reason. It’s because, like Tank and Lisa—and hopefully one day like Epifania and Rudman—we have somehow found in each other what most people never find. A true soulmate. A love to end all loves. Now, kiss me,” I said. “Kiss me like it’s the last kiss we’ll ever share.”

  “Here?”

  “Who gives a damn, Alex?”

  And so he kissed me with everything he had within him, regardless of those who looked on with disapproval, regardless of any judgments that were being hurled our way. I kissed him back just as I’d asked him to kiss me—as if it were our last kiss. And when I did that, I felt my heart and my soul become one with his as he ran his hand down my back and then parted so he could wipe a tear from my cheek.

  I looked up at him, struck by unexpected emotion. “Did you feel that?” I asked. “Because I’ve always felt that with you.”

  Too struck by emotion, which was stamped on his face with a weight I could feel in my gut, he only could nod at me as he swept me into his arms and then twirled me around the dance floor, making my dress and hair fan out. And as the song ended, he took me into his arms again and held me.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL hours, we lost Lisa and Tank to the undeniable heat of desire that had been building between them for most of the night. Clearly, they left early to go home to farm better pastures in their bedroom—and good for them. Ben Cade—a surveillance expert—had his own surveillance team on site, so we were fine to let Tank go.

  May they have a wonderful time...

  We also lost Epifania to Rudman Cross, who seemed consumed by her every time I caught a glimpse of him holding her close to him at the bar.

  May they become a couple some day soon...

  And so, in their absence, and wanting to fully support Kate and Ben in their efforts to support Michael’s memory, Alex and I decided to stay. With fresh martinis in hand, we moved through the crowd, greeting and speaking with friends we hadn’t seen in days, weeks, or months—including Countess Castellani, her blind husband Count Luftwick, and our great friend Henri Dufort, who was speaking with them as we approached.

  As usual, the countess was dominating the conversation. Since I knew that she was a bit off, I placed a hand on Alex’s shoulder and stopped him cold so we could eavesdrop on what she was saying before we were seen.

  “No, Henri,” I heard her say. “You don’t understand. We are still building the house in San Miguel de Allende.”

  “The house we talked about a year ago?” Henri asked.

  “Yes—that house! I know it’s difficult to believe, but it’s true. We are
now three years into the building of it, and my stress is running so high, I’m actually considering the use of medicinal marijuana in an effort to reconnect with who I used to be before this nightmare began.”

  “You’re considering what?” Henri said.

  “You heard me—a prescription for marijuana. But only to calm my nerves. It was my doctor—you remember, the esteemed Dr. Manhub Al Shammari—who suggested it to me.”

  “Isn’t he the man who convinced you to eat exotic bugs and mushrooms?”

  “That would be him.”

  “Are you still eating them?”

  “The bugs, not the mushrooms. The mushrooms didn’t do a thing for me. But the bugs? The bugs have an undercurrent of power. But don’t get the wrong idea. It’s not as if I’m eating cockroaches, for God’s sake. These are very exclusive, rare, and expensive bugs flown in from the Amazon. Some of them are so huge, I need to use a fork and a steak knife just to cut through them. To assist in that effort, I sometimes have my cook peel them like shrimp before I pop them into my mouth. They’re perfectly suitable with a dipping sauce.”

  “What are they supposed to do for you?”

  “Calm my nerves. But since I clearly need something else, we’re now thinking about the marijuana. Imagine,” she said. “Me rolling and lighting up a joint! Oh, the cards that life deals us! But what choice do I have? The way this house is going, the Count and I will be dead—dead!—before we even step foot inside of it. And worse, I can’t even begin to have it properly decorated. My darling Sebastian, who does all of our houses, is at his wits’ end with me. He wants to get into this house, but I won’t have it until it’s finished. The lot of it is so tragic, I need another glass of champagne.”

  “That will be your seventh,” Count Luftwick said. “You know I can’t see shit, Countess, but I’ve heard you tossing them back all evening long. Clink, clink, clink. Glug, glug, glug. And after listening to you for the past ten minutes, I’m sorry to say that it’s beginning to show.”

  “I still want another.”

  “Here’s one for you,” I heard Henri say as he swept a fluted glass off a passing server’s tray. “It must be difficult to continue on with your stories if your throat is parched.”

  “Oh,” she said, pressing a hand to her breast. “Have I been talking too much?”

  “Are you fucking kidding?” the Count said.

  The Countess pointedly ignored him. “Because I don’t mean to be. It’s just you, Henri. I always feel as if you and I connect in ways that the Count and I no longer do.”

  “She’s all yours, Henri,” Count Luftwick said. “I don’t know what the old girl looks like these days and I really don’t care, but she’s yours for the asking. So, please—just ask.”

  “You’re a horrible man,” the Countess said.

  “We should help Henri out,” I said.

  “Agreed,” Alex said. “Let’s make ourselves known.”

  “Hello!” I said to them as we appeared through the crowd.

  “Who in the hell is that?” the Count said.

  “It’s Jennifer and Alex Wenn, Count Luftwick,” I said. “We thought we’d come over to say hello.”

  “Well, I’m glad that you did, Jennifer, because I’ve always liked you. I have no idea what the hell you look like, but I’ve heard rumors that you’re gorgeous, and I have a feeling that tonight you’re one of the room’s stars. Give me a hug.”

  I gave him a quick hug and a kiss on each cheek.

  “You smell incredible,” he said. “It reminds me of the old days, when the Countess used to smell good. Now, she smells like an antique chair that’s been locked away in an attic and covered by a dusty sheet.”

  Oh, dear...

  “Hello, Henri,” Alex deftly interjected before the Countess could respond to that.

  “Alex,” he said as the two men shook hands. “Great to see you.”

  “And Countess Castellani and Count Luftwick,” Alex said. “It’s always a pleasure.”

  “It is,” I said to the Countess, who was a tall reed of a woman with dark hair pulled back so tightly that it assisted her facelift. She was wearing a chic black evening gown and enough jewelry to give most of the women in the room a run for their rubies. “I just love your dress,” I said. “It’s beautiful.”

  “Vintage Dior,” she said. “Cost the Count a fortune, which always makes me smile. How I love holding his checkbook ransom. It thrills me to keep taking notches out of it. But I digress—how are you two? We haven’t seen you since your jungle nightmare and naturally we were concerned.”

  “We’re fine,” Alex said. “All of that is behind us.”

  “And so it is,” she said as she turned to look at me. “Jennifer, I’m so sorry about the loss of your child...”

  The sting I felt was real, but so was her sentiment. I could see it on her face, and so I absorbed the memory of my loss and nodded at her with a grim smile.

  “I appreciate that, Countess.”

  “Will you try again?”

  “Yes. Of course we will.”

  “Well, bonne chance, I say. Because both of you deserve it.”

  And when she said that, I almost wanted to breathe a sigh of relief. She was being genuine—I could hear it in her voice. She felt for our loss. Who knew that she even had it in her?

  “Imagine the bugs you could have eaten on that island,” the Count said with a smirk to his wife. “I bet there were plenty of them to feast on there...”

  “Where?” the Countess said.

  “On the island Jennifer and Alex were stranded on. Where else?” He held up a finger. “You know, I should just ship you there for a few weeks. Consider it an all you can eat buffet, my dear. And, look, it’s highly probable that even pot grows there. You could just munch and puff all of your anxieties away.”

  “You’re a horrible man.”

  “Anyway,” I said to each of them. “There are still so many people to see. Alex and I just wanted to stop by and say hello. We’re glad to see all of you looking so well.”

  When I said that, I locked eyes with Henri, who knew what I was doing—getting out of this while we could. He gave me a subtle wink and said, “Glad you both dropped by. Let’s have dinner soon. Shall we? Just the three of us?”

  “Name the place and time, and we’ll be there, Henri,” Alex said.

  “Then expect a call from me this week.”

  “WE SHOULD LEAVE,” I said after we’d said hello and spoken to a whole host of other people. “It’s late, and it appears as if others are leaving. I think it’s safe to say that the party’s over.”

  “Back to real life?” Alex said.

  “If real life means you taking me in our bedroom, then I can’t get back to real life soon enough.”

  “Time to go!” he said with a laugh. “Let’s say goodbye to Kate and Ben, and then let’s get out of here.”

  After saying goodnight to our hosts and promising them that dinner had to happen soon, Alex texted Cutter to pick us up and we walked out of the Stone Foundation—and into the bare, broad, open air.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  “WHERE ARE THEY?” GIA asked as she pressed her eye firmly into her rifle’s scope. “The foundation is emptying. I don’t see them.”

  “They’ll show,” Carlo said. “The party’s finished. Look at the sheer amount of people waiting on the sidewalk for their limos to show. The Wenns could appear at any moment, so be prepared for it.”

  The past hour had been sheer hell for them, because neither knew when Alex and Jennifer Wenn would leave the building and move onto the sidewalk with the rest of the partygoers.

  Somehow, they were still inside. Still taking their fucking time while she and her brother had no choice but to remain low to the floor, rooted to their guns, which presented its own set of physical limitations.

  As in shape as she was, crouching down so low and leaning into such an awkward position created an ache in her neck and her shoulders that was excruciating.


  And she knew that it had to be worse for Carlo, who was bigger than she and thus had to settle even lower onto the floor in a position that was wholly unnatural.

  But if they left their sites for even a second, they could miss the Wenns when they left the Stone Foundation. And then all would be lost—and they both knew it. So neither of them moved from their positions, not even for a quick stretch.

  Gia glanced at her watch and saw that it was just past midnight.

  “Do a sweep,” Carlo said. “Look around for cops. I’ll stay locked on the doors.”

  “Done.”

  He waited a moment before he said, “Anything out of the ordinary? Any security?”

  She swept Fifty-Fourth Street, her eyes carefully scanning from left to right.

  “Not yet...”

  “You need to hurry. They’ll be coming out soon.”

  “So you keep saying—time and again. Before you launch into a fit of hysteria, how about if you just keep your rifle on the front doors,” she said as she scanned the rest of the street before moving beyond the building and scanning Park Avenue. “I see no cops. Not yet, anyway.”

  “Where are you looking now?” he asked.

  “Park.”

  “More people are leaving,” he said.

  “Let them leave,” she said. “We’re only after two people, Carlo. Until you tell me that the Wenns are leaving, I have no interest in who’s—” And then Gia stopped cold. “What in the hell...?” she said.

  “What?” Carlo said.

  With her heart quickening, Gia adjusted her sites and fixed on a figure that was standing in a tuxedo at the far left of the foundation’s entrance. She couldn’t see his face now, but for a fleeting instant she’d seen it—and she’d known then who it was.

  But can I be sure? It was so quick. And he’s supposed to be on a plane at this point...

  With the man’s face now concealed by the pillar that was closest to Park—where traffic was actually moving in ways that it wasn’t moving on Fifty-Fourth Street, where traffic was stuck—she held her breath and waited for him to move.