Chapter 26: Twenty-Six

Then...

“Stay with us, baby girl! Please!” Inside the ambulance, Hank prayed and pleaded with God not to take her away. It was rare when he felt this powerless and desperate, resorting to a greater power. “Why did you do this to yourself, Claire?” Holding her hand tight in his grasp, he felt the pressure closing down on his chest. Claire was in front of him, utterly wrecked, blood dripping from her mouth, nose and ears, not to mention from the rest of her body. She was a chaos. The beeping sounds went out of control inside the vehicle, and his heart sped, matching the craziness of the machine.

“Sir, please, give me some space.”

The nurse warned him as she grabbed the pads of the defibrillator, shocking the soul out of her. Not only once, but three times, until she got back to life. The sound of those agonizing minutes would never leave my mind, and all the nurse’s efforts did not guarantee she’d survive. He could never imagine she felt so cornered to end up taking such extreme measures, as if there was no way out for her. Claire was such a sweet girl. Tom and he had everything planned to pull her out of her father’s grasp. It would crush his brother’s heart. How would he tell him what happened to her?

Hank picked up his phone from his back pocket and called Paul. In a few seconds, he heard a heavy voice on the other side of the speaker. “Doc, I need you at Mount Sinai, now! No time to waste.”

“Fine, I’ll meet you there.”

Once in the emergency room, the madness started. They rushed her to the operating room. As soon as Doc arrived there. Hank filled him in and watched Paul disappear through a door. He left to the restroom to throw some water on his face, or he’d pass out. Studying himself in the mirror, he was as white as a ghost, and his hands were shaking like if an earthquake was in place. He never got like that, not even when he pulled the trigger for the first time on a rival mobster.

“Tom, Claire jumped from the roof of Justin’s office building. We just brought her to Mount Sinai.” He called his brother to deliver the crappy news.

“Jesus, Henry! What that asshole did to her? I begged her so many times to leave everything behind!” Tom cried on the phone, not able to hold himself. “Is she alive? Please, tell me she’s still breathing…” Tom trailed off. Gosh, this was hard. His brother was in love with her forever. “I’m going over!”

“Come through the back door. I’ll be waiting for you there. Watch out for Franco and Chloe.” Tom hung up. It was a matter of minutes for those snakes to be there, and he was sure her husband’s people would also come in a few, so he had to act fast.

***

It was late afternoon, five hours without news. Tom was about to open a hole in the floor, pacing back and forth from one side to the other in the waiting room. The news that her husband and his family were already there came to him. He peeked at the door when the commotion took place, and only had time to see Justin getting sedated, and Arthur, his father, by his side. He sat with him on the couch, holding the tall young man to him while Justin cried his eyes out in his arms. Unfortunately, he couldn’t feel sorry for him. Tom, his brother, came first, and Claire needed a break from everything if she survived.

Hank had to keep vigilant, because her father and sister would sneak around like the rats they were. They’d be in the shadows since Justin knew nothing about those devils. He sent a message to Paul, asking him to come to them before anything else. He had a plan and hoped it’d work.

An income message was delivered to his phone. It was from Darryl. “Hank, they are moving onto Melina’s parents in about thirty minutes.” Shit, today of all days? Why? He wouldn’t be able to leave now. He had to talk to Paul. Darryl was his best inside Franco’s cartel, and they kept in contact since he got out of the business not so long ago. Once everything cooled down on his side, he would also pull Darryl out of that life.

“I’m in a load of shit, right now, Darryl. Please keep me posted. I’ll get there as soon as I can!” He wrote it back. Lord, his brother’s love was dying in an operating room, and his love’s parents were about to be burned. Now he was the one pacing back and forth like a maniac in the room. The entire world was falling on his head, burying him alive. Time was short. Hank sighed loud, raking his fingers in his hair and cursing non-stop.

“What is it, brother?” Tom looked at him with anxious eyes. “News from Doc?” Hank shook his head and stared at him.

“Melina’s parents are in danger, but how can I leave in the middle of this crap?” He was about to hyperventilate, and his heart rate was haywire. Everything was happening at once, and he was only one, he couldn’t be in two places at the same time.

“I’ll take care of it. What is the plan?” Tom assured, seeing him so distraught.

“If she has a chance of survival, tell Doc to declare her dead and transfer her to White Plains Hospital under a different name. He needs to tell the family her body was so broken that the hospital had to seal the casket. I’ll talk to him later to arrange the fake funeral. Tomorrow you wipe all her data, and we find her another. What do you think?” He shot an eager look in Tom’s direction.

“It’s a perfect plan, Henry. I’ll deal with everything here. Now, go! See what you can do about the Karagianises.”

“I love you, brother! Don’t worry, she’s strong, she’ll pull through, believe.” Hank gave Tom a big bear hug and left in a hurry.

***

Hank observed the house from a distance, and it was in complete darkness. Evening was on him already, and it seemed no one had ever been there. He put on his black ski mask, gloves, and sneaked into the backyard, forcing the back door. The odor of gunpowder hit his nostrils the moment he stepped inside the house. Shit, he was late. Hank came through the kitchen, checking the rooms and chanting, ‘Lord, let them be alive.’ Suddenly, he seemed the religious kinda guy since it was the second time that day he was appealing to God. The smell of blood permeated the living room, and when he turned on the lamp, the scene was grotesque.

His heart thundered in his chest just to drop into his stomach, and his only thought was Melina. She didn’t deserve all that. They were hard-working people! Good with everyone around them. Their only sins were to be a great jeweler and fall into Franco’s lust for money and power. Sweat broke out on his forehead, making the mask stick to his face. Underneath his clothes, cold sweat ran up and down his body. Franco’s days were shortening. He was a plague, and Hank vowed to be the cure.

Husband and wife were on the floor, near the couch, face first, and their brains all over the place, executed. There were signs of struggle. Broken glasses, frames, turned furniture. They fought their souls out before they gave in. He could only imagine their terror. There was nothing he could do about it, even though he went to them, trying to feel any sign of a pulse just to ease his mind, but experience told him otherwise. Surprise hit him when he touched Mr. Karagianis’ throat. Darryl sent the message recently, and they were already dead for at least six hours.

Something didn’t add to the scene. He wasn’t sure, but it looked like a setup, and he had to leave the place. Tilting his head up to the noises coming from upstairs, he started moving towards to check on them when sirens screamed farther away. The police. He was right. As soon as he got in his car, the police showed up surrounding the house and knocking the door down. Hank watched from afar as they raided the place. Then he left without looking back. He needed to talk to Darryl and sort this out. Someone wanted him out of the picture, but who? Now all his worries were on Melina, the sweet and timid girl he fell in love with, and she was about to get the crappiest news of her life.