Turning his dark eyes upon me, I could see my death in the near future. I couldn’t lie to this man. I’d be tortured until I broke and with my two bullet wounds, it wouldn’t take much. I’d been so close to escaping with the diamonds.
“Where are my diamonds?” he said.
“They’re in a bag in my pants. Can I stand?”
He nodded and I slowly rose to my feet, not wanting to make any sudden movements. Then, with a couple fingers, I reached into my pants and inched the bag out. Once it was out, one of the gunmen grabbed it from me and handed it to Levushka.
Levushka opened the bag, reaching in and scooping up a handful of sparkling diamonds. He finally smiled and that was even more chilling than his grim visage.
Turning back to me, Levushka asked, “What happened here?”
How much did he already know? It wasn’t worth lying to him as everyone was already dead.
“Kasey, Ilya’s girlfriend, convinced him to steal the diamonds from you. She said Ilya was angry with you so it was easy to persuade him to betray you. Kasey though planned on taking the diamonds for herself and got that biker to try to kill Ilya. She also tried to blame me for stealing the diamonds from Ilya and used my friend, the guy in the wheelchair, to help her plans. I killed Kasey though she shot me.”
Levushka nodded, seemingly satisfied with the story. He obviously wasn’t concerned that his son was dead. Maybe he already knew Ilya had stolen from him.
“You also tried to steal my diamonds.”
I couldn’t deny it and I could see the darkness that was coming.
“Please, please forgive me. You have your diamonds now and the main thief is dead. I just want to leave here alive and then I am going to move very far away. No one will ever hear from me again.”
Levushka nodded but said, “I wish I could believe that but I can’t take that chance. If I let you go, others will think it is acceptable to steal from me. You understand?”
I nodded and then bowed my head. I was out of options. I never should have come to see Freddy. I should have just fled. My mistake. I felt like DeNiro at the end of Heat.
Levushka looked back up to his two men, giving them a slight nod before he turned and left the room. As he walked out, I said a silent prayer.
Seconds later, the two men fired their guns.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Richard Auffrey is a food & drinks writer and educator in Massachusetts. Check out his blog, The Passionate Foodie.
Richard is also the author of the Tipsy Sensei series, supernatural thrillers involved a Boston-based Sake aspect who learns that the creatures from Japanese mythology real. Check out the three novels, including Demons, Gods & Sake; Hand Fed Tigers; and Halloween Nightmare at Fenway. They are available as e-books and paperbacks on Amazon.
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