Total pages in book: 52
Estimated words: 48585 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 243(@200wpm)___ 194(@250wpm)___ 162(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48585 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 243(@200wpm)___ 194(@250wpm)___ 162(@300wpm)
Vincent nods and gives me a pat on the shoulder for luck. “We’ll be right here monitoring things over the cameras. As soon as you and Valentina get back into the city, we’ll be here to support whatever you need. And if I see any of the Conti crew heading out to the desert while you’re gone, I’ll send our men to stop them in their tracks before they reach you. Good luck, Luc.”
I nod in appreciation and then race out to my car, leaving Zara and Vincent to monitor things from here as I chase Leonardo Conti into the desert. When I find him—I’m going to kill him. I won’t hesitate this time. I know that the only way to get this bastard out of our lives for good, and to keep him from ever tormenting Valentina again, is to end him once and for all. Otherwise, his sick obsession with having her will continue.
I drive like mad out into the desert, ignoring every traffic light and breaking every law in order to reach her before something happens. There’s no good reason to take someone all the way out into the desert beyond the city unless you intend to kill them. I hadn’t expected Leonardo to kill her, as it would be the ultimate admission that he’s failed to keep and control her. But now that Valentina is useless to him, and she has humiliated him more than once—I wouldn’t put anything past him.
I slam on the gas until it feels like I’m pressing the pedal through the floor of the car, and as soon as I get outside the city, I follow the one long dirt road out into the night. All my eyes can see is dirt and sand and deserted land until I spot Leonardo’s car far in the distance.
I slow the car down so as not to kick up as much dust as I approach and reach for my gun so that I’m ready to jump out and engage Leonardo as soon as I’m within shooting range. But the sound of a single gunshot cuts through the still air.
Panic instantly sets in, and despite the sand, I punch the gas again and race toward the car up ahead. As soon as I get close enough, I stop the car and step out.
The air all around me is thick with dust and sand that the car’s spinning tires have kicked up. I take a few steps forward with my gun held out in front of me, not able to get a clear view of what’s ahead until the debris in the air settles. Then, I think I see someone walking toward me, someone much too small to be Leonardo.
“Valentina!” I call out.
“Luc?”
As soon as I hear her shaking voice, I run toward her. By the time I reach her, the dirt and sand have settled, and I can see her dust-covered body standing against the horizon with one shaking hand held outstretched toward the car, and the other reaching out for me. Blood covers the front of her body and face, and runs down the inside of her leg.
“Valentina!” I shout out as I reach for her.
Her trembling body falls into my arms as she cries.
I hold her against me and try to calm her. “Shhh, everything is going to be okay. I’m here now. I’ve got you.” As I look over her shoulder, I can see Leonardo’s body on the ground, surrounded by a pool of blood.
“What happened?”
“He tried to come at me,” she cries. “Tried to force himself on me, but I didn’t let him. Not this time. I shot him and killed him, and I’m glad for it.”
The thought of him bringing Valentina all the way out here so that he could force himself onto her blinds me with hatred and rage.
“Stay right here for one second,” I say as I steady her against the side of the car. I need to make sure that he’s dead and that Leonardo Conti will never bother her again.
I walk toward Leonardo’s lifeless body and kick it twice. He’s completely unresponsive, with his eyes rolled into the back of his head. But still—I crouch down beside him, disgusted at the sight of his flaccid, sand-covered dick, and put the barrel of my gun against the center of his forehead.
“No amount of money or status could protect you from the death you so greatly deserve, Leonardo,” I say, before pulling the trigger.
Now, with his brains splattered against the ground, I can be sure that he will never again interfere in our lives. Tonight, the Moretti family made good on two of its debts of revenge—Angelo Barone and Leonardo Conti are no more.
Just as I go to stand up and wipe Leonardo’s blood off my face with the back of my hand, Valentina lets out a scream of pain. I turn to look at her and see her fall to her knees beside the car. Around her heels, a puddle of blood is forming on the sand.