Dangerous Conceit by Ali Lee
Chapter 55
An enveloping silence filled the room. The stagnant air that Lexi tried to ignore made her feel ill all over again. She was alone. Was this how it would end? Would she lose her life in the very room she despised?
“Put your gun on the floor and slide it across the room.” Moretti’s dark hair was trimmed neatly around his ears. The formal grey suit made him look like a kind man. His fake, soft smile fooled people into thinking he enjoyed the charity work that he did.
Lexi knew better, the disguise that lingered behind. She knew him for far too long to think he would show her any type of mercy. He wanted nothing but her death. She was a threat, a risk that he was not willing to take. Without Maura, keeping her around was pointless.
“Get on your knees,” he said. The sharp muzzle of his gun struck the back of her head. She collapsed to her knees, hot blood trickling down her neck and being absorbed into the soft color of her shirt. She willed herself to feel nothing. The shooting pain she should have felt never came. Her body did not move.
“Why couldn't you have done what I told you?” Moretti walked around in front, stopping to look at her without any remorse in his eyes. “I'll tell you something before you die.”
Lexi stared. Her face showed no signs that she was the least bit interested in what he had to say. He was resorting to mental torture, trying to break her down. Lexi restrained herself from giving in.
“I'll bet you still don't know who your father is,” he taunted, attempting to lower her pride and self-worth. “You were born as no one, unwanted by your mom and despised by your dad. You should have considered what I did for you a favor. You were always an ungrateful bitch, never appreciating anything anyone ever did.”
Lexi shook her head to keep him talking. She wanted to delay the inevitable as long as she could…at least until she gained the courage to fight back. “You can say whatever you want to me, but nothing you say will mean anything.”
“Of course it will.” Lexi could hear the condescending tone in his voice, pleased with her kneeling at his feet. Having power over her always did make him feel big.
“Your father didn't want you. He left Gloria as soon as he found out about you.”
“Yeah, sure…same shit I’ve already heard. Your words never got to me. I never cared. It always bothered you that I didn’t give into your mind games. That's why I was treated the worst. You had everyone else under your control, but you never had me. You had to use Maura—a baby. I always thought that made you weak.”
“You wouldn't have been treated any different except for that mouth. You have yourself to blame. You shouldn’t have challenged me.”
He reared his hand back and slapped her in the face, leaving a fiery handprint on her cheek inflamed. She did not say a word. She let him continue his story. It was one she had not heard before, one that added fuel to her resentment for every person who had a part in this mess.
“You went running to the mafia, Lexi—the mafia, the same group that abandoned you in the first place. These people are hoping you never find out the truth.”
“What are you talking…about?” Lexi started and then finished but wished she never did. Now Moretti knew he had her attention. He would use that to his benefit, to wear her mental state down. How could she let the words slip?
“Gloria had an affair—with Antonio, Angelo's father. Then he kicked her out, threw her on the street. He didn't care about you. All he cared about was separating his name from you both—forever. If it weren't for you, they would still be together. You thought we were keeping you from Paolini. We were actually protecting you from them.”
“Protecting?” Lexi faked shock. “You were protecting me? Are you kidding? Do you even know the meaning of that word?” she asked but was thinking about what he said. Was it true? Did her mother's pregnancy make Antonio leave? “What?” she mumbled to herself. Did Angelo know about her too? Is that why he was willing to give Gloria the money, so Lexi would not stain his name? No wonder her mother asked for so much. No wonder he agreed without a second's thought. It never had anything to do with helping her. It was all about hiding the truth.
“Liars…all of you are liars,” she stated pointblank. “None of you deserve to live.”
Lexi closed her eyes, trying to perceive the truth, the horrid reality behind every motive of every person she ever used to trust. She felt anger—rage. She would deal with her father later. For now, Moretti had to pay. There was really no risk considering the gun he held. She was already as good as dead.
She stared at him—the man who only cared for himself. There was nothing left to stop her—no child to threaten her with; no friend's life to hold over her head.
Before Moretti had the chance to react, Lexi fell backwards, flat on the wooden slates of the floor as the rough edges jabbed through her shirt. Her legs darted between him. She forced her feet up, kicking the pit of his back with all the power she could find. Moretti went flailing head first behind her, crashing onto the old wood underneath.
Lexi bolted for his guns and knocked them from his hands as he yanked the hem of her shirt, her head slamming to the floor for another hard blow. She squeezed her eyes shut to ward off the impeding blackness, giving him time to recover from his fall. Moretti crawled on top of her. He grabbed both sides of her collar when her arm whirled around. Her closed fist punched his lip as hard as he slapped her.
Moretti let go of her collar, touching his swollen lips as her other arm flew. He blocked her, raising his body enough to let her powerful legs fold to her chest. Lexi did not think. She reacted. She kicked his gut, launching his body to wall, the once termite-infested sheetrock crumbling around him.
He was down and Lexi jumped up. She steadied her feet with seconds to grab the pistol she had slid across the room. With barely a blink, Lexi yanked it up and clicked the hammer faster than Moretti could act. “Don't you dare move,” she fumed, portraying none of the fear that she actually felt. It was a reality check. She did not have time to come to terms. The man who caused her so much misery now found his life at her discretion.
“You should have seen this coming. You trained someone who wasn't afraid to die. Maura was the only thing I was ever afraid of losing, not my life. She is safe now, and you…you can burn for all I care. Atonement for all the shit you pulled.”
“What are you going to do, shoot me?” Moretti ignored her threat and took a step, making light of the situation. Maybe he thought she would not pull the trigger. He antagonized the wrong woman at the wrong time. She did not stop to think. Lexi shot. She was probably the first person who ever dared.
Lexi could not believe it. She missed. Twinges of pain ran throughout her body. She was dizzy, her strained muscles feeling the full effects of the explosion. It was difficult for her to lift her arms as everything moved in slow motion around her. Lexi's vision went blurry.
She held her head as an intense pain shot all the way through. Her ears were ringing. Sounds became distant. Her body went numb. Then she fell to her knees, no longer able to stand.
Moretti laughed as her lips parted and gasped for air. She could make out his expression, how it gloated with the control he gained. Then he picked up the gun for himself and aimed. “You were saying?” he sneered.
“She was saying that you're a dead motherfucker.” Rafa entered the room and struck Moretti with a metal rod, feeling nothing for the severity of his blows. One hit after another, he never let up. He could not stop. Rafa's mind kept replaying his threats against Lexi and Maura. Revenge consumed his mind. “That's right, why don't you try your shit now?” Rafa shoved his bloody body against the wall.
“Rafa! Where's Maura?” Lexi screeched her words in between panting and pushing herself up.
“Safe,” Rafa said but did not look back. He bashed Moretti some more. The impact of the metal bar on Moretti’s body felt good every time it hit.
“Rafa…shoot him.” Rafa did not hear a word she said and continued, determined to bleed the life out of Moretti. Lexi shot him instead.
“Fuck!” Rafa jumped back, almost being hit himself. Lexi’s vision was still blurred. She could not see straight and stumbled forward, standing directly in front of Moretti. He had to know she would not let him live.
“It's ironic, isn't it? You teach me to kill, and I end up killing you. It suits you.” She tilted her head and observed with quiet reflection. “I would make peace if I were you.”
“You can kill me, but you’ll never be anything more than nothing.” He attempted one last time to get into her mind when she shot, unloading the clip in his head.
“To hell with you.” She swayed to the doorway, holding on for balance. Lexi felt sick. With the intensity of the situation and relief that came afterwards, Lexi threw up her stomach's contents again. She gagged until her stomach knotted and twisted with pain.
“You are not all right.” Rafa slid his hand around her arm, helping her to stand upright.
Lexi said nothing. She had not forgotten what Moretti said about her father. If Rafa knew anything, he should have told her first. Moretti should have never been the one who told her such sensitive information.
“You should have told me about Antonio.” She shrugged out of his grip and walked to the old gas heater that mounted in the wall. Its white ceramic coating chipped off a decade ago. The metal bars were worn out from constant use. It did not surprise Lexi that the old house still ran on gas. Neither Gloria nor Kenneth ever updated anything.
“We'll talk about it later,” he sighed and started to gather the guns. He knew Moretti must have completely twisted the truth.
“Fine.” She yanked the gas line from the heater and walked out of the room.
Lexi ran down the hallway and let the wall guide her for support as she entered the kitchen at the end. Then she turned one knob and waited for it to light. A small, glowing fire flamed where food was never cooked.
“We have three minutes.” She gazed around the room, at the old brown cabinet doors while Rafa stared at her, wondering about what Abby had once said…that Lexi stayed calm until provoked. She was no woman to play around with when mad.
Ten seconds passed and neither moved to leave. Then Rafa snapped to his senses, realizing there was a direct gas flow at one end of the house and a flame in the other.
“God almighty, come on!” He grabbed her hand and raced out of the torn screen door. Neither ever looked back as they jumped into the Escalade that waited with two men in front. No one would ever miss the house. The memories and horror would all burn inside. The man left behind would be perfectly redeemed, cleansed with the ferocity of the heat.
They passed one abandoned house followed by another. The only family who still lived on the street was in a brick home five houses down. Lexi glanced at it. It probably had the same dealers that it had in the past.
A booming eruption came as they entered the next street. Lexi looked back, making sure the house went up in a billow of smoke. Nothing comforted her more than to see that old house blown to pieces.
With three miles in between, sirens began to sound in the distance. The farther they drove the more emergency vehicles they passed. Lexi was not worried. Those paramedics would not be able to touch the house with the type of fire that burned. There would be nothing left to incriminate her and the dealers never talked.