Killer Santas

Chapter 17

When Victor's chest stilled and his eyes went blank, Elaina felt all the adrenaline drain from her body. She sagged against the nearest cubicle partition, sinking to the ground as the pain from her foot reclaimed her.

Marco Andrisano pulled out a flip phone from his pocket and dialed a number. "Come now. Bring the doctor. There are also two bodies." He flipped his phone shut and glanced across at Elaina. "You're a brave little thing," he said, cocking his head slightly. "No wonder Tony didn't want you dead."

"Gee, thank," Elaina said sarcastically, her teeth chattering. Am I going into shock? How am I managing to be sarcastic when I'm going into shock? "What happened to him finding someone prettier?"

Marco didn't react to her sarcasm. "That," he said, gesturing to Victor's body. "Pretty only is as pretty does, but what you did took guts. You can't find that anywhere."

Elaina looked up at him and saw what may have been admiration in his eyes.

"What about Tony?" she asked suddenly.

Marco moved over to her, helping her to her feet, and she limped over to where Tony lay on his back, struggling to control his breathing. Blood covered his shirt from the bullet wound in his stomach.

"Oh, no, Tony," Elaina moaned, dropping onto her knees beside him. Pain shot through her foot and she shifted her position to lessen the pressure on it. Grasping Tony's hand, she stared down at him.

"Elaina," Tony murmured, opening his eyes slightly. "You're all right?"

She nodded, refraining from mentioning the painful hole in her foot. "Yeah, I'm all right. Hang in there, okay? A doctor's coming."

"She killed Victor, son," Marco said. "Shot him dead. Brave girl."

Tony nodded, his fingers tightening around Elaina's. "Yes, she is."

The elevator doors opened and three men entered, two with guns and the other with a medical bag. The doctor hurried over toward Tony, kneeling down beside him as he gestured for Elaina to move back. The other two checked Victor's and Jackie's bodies, removing their weapons and forms of identification.

"Will he make it, Tom?" Marco asked quietly.

"I believe so," Tom, the doctor, answered. "He's lost a lot of blood but the wound itself isn't fatal and as long as I can get him back to base, I'll be able to remove the bullet. The SUV's in the garage, waiting."

"Take the girl with you," Marco requested. "Tom, this is Elaina Rossi. Victor shot her in the foot. Make sure that gets mended."

"Yes, sir," Tom said, gesturing to the other two men.

With much effort, they were able to get Tony onto a gurney and into the elevator, which took them down to the parking garage. The two armed men stayed behind, probably to dispose of the bodies. Elaina balanced precariously on one foot, gripping the bar around the inside of the elevator cab to prevent her toppling over. The pain in her foot had increased and Elaina was starting to get a headache.

The elevator opened on the garage and she was struck by the memory of she and Michael emerging into this same garage a week ago, only to get shot. Lying up ahead, as if it had been kicked aside, was Elaina's purse, lost during the first shootout.

Stooping, she picked it up, determined to look through it later. The SUV Tom had promised sat right ahead of them, the back door opening as they approached it.

Tony was placed carefully in the back and Marco climbed in with him, waving aside the offers of his men to take his place. Elaina was escorted into the middle seat, Tom instructing her to keep her foot up until they reached their destination.