Page 53 of Kingpin

“Bonnie, wa—”

I hung up the phone and jammed my hand into the elevator button. My uncle wasn’t about to get the best of us. Not by a longshot. I had to warn him. Even if Israel was hellbent on killing me or leaving me, I still had to warn him.

No one deserved that.

“I’m coming,” I whispered.

I stumbled into the open doors of the elevator and made my way into the lobby. The absence of bodyguards outside in the main lobby told me everything I needed to know. I shoved people out of my way to get outside, and I flagged down a cab. The damn town car wasn’t even down here for me.

That man doesn’t love me.

And he’d never love me.

I felt my heart breaking as I dumped myself into the back seat of the first cab that pulled up. I pulled out a couple of twenties and tossed them at him, then rattled off the roundabout area where Israel’s main warehouse was. The driver looked at me like I was an idiot, but he did as he was told. We made our way through Chicago and left the city limits, and the second I saw smoke on the horizon, I knew I was too late.

“Towards that smoke. Go. Hurry!” I exclaimed.

The driver stepped on the gas, and I pulled up to a warehouse that was engulfed in flames. I tumbled out of the cab, and the driver raced away, leaving me all alone with the burning warehouse. I saw a black town car and I knew Israel had to be there. As I dropped my purse, I went rushing into the burning building.

“Israel!” I roared.

I coughed and sputtered as I dashed through the main entrance.

“Israel!”

The smoke choked off my ability to speak. Tears leaked from my eyes as I dropped to my hands and knees. Smoke quickly filled the rooms, and locked doors burst open from the pressure mounting behind them. I scoured the hallways, breathlessly calling out his name. I heard the roof collapsing in the distance as men groaned before the crackling of flames drowned out their sounds. Tears dripped down my chin. I finally found Israel’s office and reached for the doorknob.

The damn thing was searing hot, but I managed to open the door anyway.

“Israel! Are you in here?”

“I knew you’d come.”

I heard my uncle’s voice, but I couldn't see him.

“Uncle Pava?” I asked through my coughs.

“I’m so sorry, Bonnie. I didn’t want it to be true.”

I stood to my feet, still hunched over to avoid the smoke.

“Uncle, are you in here?”

“Look down,” he said.

When my eyes fell to the floor, I saw a cell phone light up with my uncle’s number, and the timer ticking away. The timer registered well over an hour. Which meant he’d been on that fucking phone the entire time the fire had been burning.

“What are you doing?” I asked breathlessly.

I heard Israel’s office door slam behind me and I whipped around. Fire ignited in a corner and quickly made its way in front of the door before I heard the lock flip. My eyes widened as more tears ran down my cheeks. I covered my nose with my hand, trying to keep some of the smoke out of my lungs.

“I didn’t want things to end this way, Bonnie. I hope you know that.”

I started choking. “You’re more of a monster than he’ll ever be.”

“I figured you’d see it that way. But had you just—”

“What? Killed him? You’re killing me because I didn’t kill him?”

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