Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 96170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
“We can make a deal,” he says softly. “I’ll back down. I’ll bend the knee to Raf. You need me to help heal the family.”
“Who says anything about healing?” I lean forward, grinning wickedly. “You crossed the line. You started the war. And now you pay for it.”
“Wait, please.” He holds up his hands, eyes wide. “I’ll do anything. I’ll leave the country. I’ll beg the other Capos to proclaim Raf. Anything! Please!”
“Nothing sweeter than a dead man begging,” I whisper and pull the trigger.
Corrado’s throat explodes in a shower of blood. He topples back, but he’s not dead yet. The old man chokes on his blood, trying to gasp for air, trying to pull it in through the new hole I made for him, but he only drowns, nice and slow. I watch him thrashing and kicking until he finally, finally goes still.
“How was that?” Enzo asks from the door, looking amused.
“Fucking fantastic.” I grin back at him. The building beyond is a graveyard. It’s painted with blood. “Let the girls go. Give them some money. Make sure they don’t spend it on fucking junk.”
“Understood.” He keeps pace as I walk past him, stepping over pools of blood and piles of corpses as my men begin cleaning house. They’ll take anything valuable. They fucking deserve it. “Three dead. All things considered, that’s a very good night.”
“Very good,” I agree. “Double pay for the survivors. Make sure the families of the dead are compensated and taken care of.”
“Always.”
I pause at the bottom of the steps and squeeze Enzo’s arm. “You’ve been by my side all the time, and I appreciate you.”
“I know you do. I wouldn’t mind a little gesture to show it though.”
“The depot is yours.”
His eyes widen a touch. “Are you serious?”
“I’m serious. The Serrano Famiglia’s going to be a mess by the time we’re finished with it, and they’ll need help rebuilding.”
“Are you sure Adriano will approve this?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll make it happen.”
I nod once more before stepping out into the night. The stink of death follows me. I smile to myself and breathe deeply, staring up at the moon and the stars.
Nothing better than revenge.
I take out my phone. “Fiorella? Baby?”
She sounds relieved to hear from me. “I was so worried. What’s going on?”
“Tell Raf Corrado’s dead.”
A short pause. She doesn’t sound as happy as I thought. “But it’s not over yet, is it?”
“Not quite yet. We have more work to do.”
Chapter 38
Fiorella
Ilinger in my father’s old office. The shelves are barren, and most of the books are packed away. Only a few family photos are left behind. The drawers of his desk were emptied out, and the filing cabinets were combed through and mostly discarded.
“Everything feels gutted,” I say when a person steps in through the door. I look over, and Luca’s watching me with a slight frown.
“And that’s a bad thing?”
“I don’t know. It’s just a lot of change.” I lean against the desk for a moment and run my fingers along the side. “Dad spent a lot of time in here. It felt like this was some kind of magical cave where big, scary, adult things happened.”
“Emphasis on the scary.” Luca smiles and comes toward me. “You had a good relationship with your father.”
“I did and I didn’t. After the panic room, we butted heads a lot. I hated him when he arranged for me to marry you. Now I look back, and I’m happy he did it.”
“Everyone has complicated relationships. It’s just how life goes.”
“What about this?” I go to him and put my hands on his chest. His heartbeat is steady and strong. “Is this complicated?”
“Yes and no. Do you really want something simple and easy? When we’re together, it’s incredible. But everything around us?”
“Stressful.”
“Like what’s about to happen in that meeting room.” He bends down and kisses me. “You don’t need to see it.”
“Yes, I do. It was partially my idea.”
“Raf seemed more than excited for it.”
“Still, I’m the one that proposed it, and I should be the one to deal with the consequences.” Fear rattles in my chest.
A weak part of me wants to take the out Luca is offering and hide away in here until everything is over.
But if I want to stay and be a part of the Famiglia, it’s time for me to pay my dues.
I can’t be that soft girl anymore. Everyone always thought I was so tough, but really that was just a sham. I wore toughness like a mask. It covered up the truth.
Now though, I want to be everything I’ve always pretended to be.
“Then it’s time to go.” He kisses me one more time. “You stay at the edge of the room, alright? When the time comes, don’t move.”
“I promise.”
“That’s my girl.” He laces his fingers into mine. “Now come on. You’re my queen, remember?”