Page 102 of Bronx

I don’t think she’d believe it if I told her who her brother really was and how we’re connected. In her eyes, Lev is some sort of government worker who travels a lot, not a hired killer for the Consortium.

“I need an ambulance at the Forge Building Campus, Building C, lower floor. Please hurry, he’s lost a lot of blood.”

She turns back to me once she hangs up with the dispatcher. Lev’s eyes are closed. He may be falling into unconsciousness.

“This isn’t the reunion I envisioned. My brother is bleeding out and you’re both holed up in this secret room. What is going on? How do you two know each other?”

“Lev is not who you think he is. He’s been lying to you for years. He doesn’t work as a translator. He was groomed by the mob to learn all those languages.”

“What?”

“Six years ago, it was your precious brother and his father who kidnapped me and later slit my throat with a dirty hunting knife.”

The devastated look on Lev’s face may just be the revenge I was looking for. It’s clear that he cares more about what Karma thinks of him than maybe even for his own life, so I keep talking. Making sure to metaphorically twist the knife into his jugular.

“He thinks he did me a favor by helping me escape in the eleventh hour, but that was just regret, not bravery. So when you run your fingers along the thickened scar on my neck, all you have to do is think of him, to remember how it got there.”

Karma looks between us both with confusion and hurt in her eyes, then her body shakes as she cries hysterically.

It physically pains me to watch, and it’s only in this moment that I realize that I’m being a selfish prick. This is not just about me and my pain anymore. There is another human being involved, a human I care deeply about, and she’s dealt with enough trauma for a lifetime.

I’ve fed the evil monster too much today.

I’ve gone too far.

She silently turns to her brother, whose head is bent down in either shame or because he’s about to pass out.

“Have you always known that my brother was the same man who was responsible for your abduction?”

I nod my head.

“And was the plan to hurt him when you found him?”

“I told you I didn’t shoot him.”

“Only because you didn’t get to him first.”

Her eyes turn away from mine and at first I say nothing in response because she’s right. I can’t lie to her anymore.

“He was part of a night that ruined my life. I can’t forgive that.”

“The ambulance will be here soon. I’d like it if you weren’t here when they arrive.”

“Karma–“

“You’ve been doing such a good job of avoiding me lately. It shouldn’t be too much to ask you to do it for another day.”

“Are you going to go with him to the hospital?”

“You did your job, Bronx. I’ll take it from here.”

Suddenly panic fills my chest and my heart pounds like it wants to explode.

I move into her space, hovering over her in a protective stance. “You understand everything I told you about him, right? Whoever shot him will keep coming after him. You’re in danger. I won’t stand for that.”

She never looks up at me but simply steps to the side.

“Please leave.”