Chapter 36 · Vow in Gunpowder

The ram hit the door again and the whole boathouse rang like a bell.

Dust sifted down from the rafters into Lucian's hair. Under the work lamp he looked gray. His lips were the color of putty, and the plastic wrap on his chest crinkled every time he pulled in air.

I pressed my palm flat over the tape to keep the seal tight. His heartbeat knocked against my hand, fast and uneven.

"That's hydraulic," he said. "They'll peel the frame in under a minute."

"Then stop talking and save your air."

"Bianca." He caught my wrist. His fingers were cold and sticky with his own blood. "Take the drain. Take the ring. Silvio gets his show, and you get Mia."

"And you get what? A bullet on a concrete floor?"

"I get to know you got out."

"No."

He stared at me. Smoke leaked under the steel door and curled across the oil-slick floor. Somewhere beyond it, the harbor was burning. I could taste diesel and scorched paint on the back of my tongue.

"I killed your mother," he said. His voice was flat. He wasn't asking for anything. "You know that.