Page 5 of These Deadly Vows

“I can’t. You know my orders.”

“Step out of my way before I break your fucking neck,” I seethe as a rage I’ve never felt before courses through my veins.

I don’t want to kill my best friend, but I will if he doesn’t move.

More gunfire erupts and I grab Santiago by the collar of his shirt, easily overpowering the brute due to his nasty hangover.

“Fuck.” I mutter as his mouth opens and blood pours out.

His body jerks as another bullet pierces him through the door.

I can die with him, or I can live to fight another day.

I watch the light snuff out of his eyes and take a deep breath.

I’ve always known death would come for me, but not today. I take off my family ring in a hurry and shove it on his finger. Let them think they’ve won.

That I perished with the rest of my family.

Sometime Later

I down my shot and motion to the bartender for another. “Keep’em coming.”

The man shakes his head. “You won’t find what you’re looking for at the bottom of that glass.”

“The fuck would you know about what I’m looking for?”

He smiles at me through his beard. “More than you know.”

“Whatever, man.” I’m not interested in hearing his sad story. We’ve all got one.

He looks around the bar and leans in close. “Heard you were dead,” he mutters casually. “But I don’t believe in ghosts.”

“You must be Merc.”

“You want to know who had the cake to put out the hit on you and your old man.”

“I have my suspicions.”

“But you don’t know who, and dead men can’t make moves. The answers you seek are damn expensive.”

“I’m good for it.”

“You mean you were. That stash of cash you pulled from the family vault will run out before you ever get close enough to knowing the who. Wiped your whole famiglia out. How’d you manage to escape before the church blew?”

“Just lucky I guess.”

“Or cursed, depending on how you look at it. Do you drink moonshine?”

“On occasion. I don’t see what that has to do with what I’m after.”

“I can help you, but you gotta do something for me.”

“What’s that?”

“Do you ride?”

“Had a Ducati.”

---