Page 7 of Falling for the Enemy

“Carmen Santiago may be dead,” he says, rubbing his palm over his stubble-covered jaw, which I plan to break with my fist before burying a bullet in his forehead. “But Camilla Cole is very much alive.”

My shoulders tense and the cords in my neck tighten when he speaks my sister’s new name, the very one she began using after escaping the dark world I now rule.

Doing so just signed his death warrant.

Killing him will kick start a war with La Famiglia and each of their allies, but that’s a non-issue for me. The cartel is strong, our resources endless. To protect Carmen and the life she’s built, I’ll use every weapon I possess to torch the entire world, burning it down one city at a time.

No one matters but her.

“If I had to guess, I’d say she’s enjoying her new life very much.”

My hand on the gun tightens at Angelo’s words, and he smirks, knowing he’s read my racing thoughts correctly. Bending down, my aim following his every move, he picks up the chair he knocked over a minute ago and takes a seat, crossing one leg over the other.

Seems he didn’t break my furniture after all.

“Where is she living now?” His index finger taps his chin, mimicking a man trying to recall an elusive thought. “Magnolia Street, if I remember correctly. Two-story blue house. White picket fence. Wraparound front porch, complete with a swing and rocking chairs.” He chuckles. “Am I right?”

Benito moves forward and pushes his Glock against the back of Angelo’s skull. But like me, the latter doesn’t react. Instead, he continues to stare, the look on his face one that I’d like to peel off layer by layer.

How quickly the tables have turned

Now it’s I who has become the mark.

Or so Angelo thinks.

“It would be a shame if something were to shatter the happily ever after she seems to have found.” He crosses his arms over his chest, the gold ring he wears on his fat pinky glinting in the dim light. “Wouldn’t it?”

“Jefe, just say the word.”

I hold up my free hand, wordlessly responding to Benito as I reply to Angelo, seeking an answer to the one question circling my mind. “Tell me how.” Chaos ensues inside my twisted thoughts, but my emotionless voice doesn’t show it. It rarely ever does. “Exactly how.”

He sucks his teeth, the disgusting sound one he won’t be able to make much longer. Not after I burn his lips to ash with a torch and saw his tongue from his mouth with a serrated blade.

“Melendez and Stefano were allies long before you were made into a soldier.” A moment of anger flits across his face, once more reddening his bulldog cheeks. “You may have flown into North Charleston and announced that you were choosing to sever the alliance between La Famiglia and the cartel once you took over, but Carlos and my brother remained associates until the former met his bitter end.”

“Get to the fucking point!”

Benito’s raised voice echoes through the room. Unlike me, my lieutenant doesn’t harness his emotions well.

“My point,” Angelo sneers, pissed over having someone raise their voice at him, “is that before you bit the hand that fed you and killed him, Carlos told Stefano all about how he’d found out his favorite whore was still alive and—”

Pop!

A sharp scream follows the firing of my gun as Angelo clutches his maimed knee, blood pouring from the hole in his ruined black slacks. To his credit, he doesn’t fall to the floor and thrash in pain like many would.

One scream is all he allows himself.

“No one disrespects my sister by calling her a whore.” I round the desk and press my gun to his left temple. “If you wish to ever gaze upon another sunrise, I suggest you keep that in mind.”

Despite my words, Angelo will never witness the beauty of a new dawn again. The moment he mentioned Carmen’s name, he and Stefano’s fate became sealed.

Death is coming for both of them.

Soon.

Angelo grins through the pain and clutches his wound, still showing no fear of the two weapons grazing his skull, regardless of mine having just blown a hole through his knee. “If you kill me, she’ll become an even bigger target.” His glazed eyes meet and hold mine. “But you already know that, don’t you?”

I do know that.

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