Page 74 of Crimson Vows

Dante stumbles back, falling into a seated position on the couch. His head comes to rest in his hands. His voice is hushed but clear. “Oh fuck. Fuck,” he whines. “I didn’t mean for it to go down like that.”

Gia’s fingers dig into my side in a feeble attempt to anchor me where I stand.

As the realization of what his words mean settles over me, my stomach curdles in disgust. “What did you do?” I demand.

“Marco, please.” Gia’s plea wraps around me, a desperate whisper that grips my conscience. “You have to help us. We have to protect him. You can’t let them kill him,” Gia begs.

Heat courses through my veins, rage a living thing trying to rip its way out of my body. My hand moves of its own accord, gun heavy and cold in my grip as I pull it from my waistband. Gia stumbles to the side, and I lunge toward Dante. I raise my gun and press it to his temple. He doesn’t fight me. He closes his eyes, resignation etched on his features, a silent nod to the fate in front of him.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” The words are venom on my tongue as I press the barrel harder into his temple. “You shot my cousin, you piece of shit. I’m going to kill you myself.”

His acceptance fuels my fury, but before I can squeeze the trigger, Gia runs over to Dante’s other side, wrapping her body around him like a shield.

“No! Marco, you have to listen! Please. You can’t do this. Dante... he only went to Vincent so he could talk to him.” Her eyes are wild and desperate.

“He fucking shot my cousin, Gia!” I shout, disbelief bearing down on me at the idea she could defend Dante for what he did. “I know you hate him, but he is like my brother.”

“A brother who was going to kill you,” Gia snaps. “An hour ago, we were trying to figure out how we were going to get away from him with our lives, and now you’re standing there acting like you have to avenge him. That’s bullshit, and you know it.”

“You don’t know that. I could have talked to him. I could have explained things, but now it’s too late for all that.” The more words I say, the more panic grips me. I have to do this.

“You don’t get to rewrite this story, Marco.” Gia’s voice is even louder now, the stress causing it to crack. “You have to listen to me. Vincent had someone watching one of us. He knew the four of us spent the night together at my place.”

My eyes move from Dante, still sitting quietly, to Gia. “What? What are you talking about?”

“Dante tried to explain it was all a misunderstanding. Vincent told him he was lying, and he knew we’d all met up at my place to plot against him. He told him he was coming for us.” My stomach sinks as I listen to Gia’s explanation.

“No, that’s impossible,” I snap, but she’s relentless. “Why would Vincent have been following either of us?”

“Because your cousin doesn’t trust anyone. Not even you.” Her voice is hard, but her words have a truth despite my resistance to accepting them. “Dante shot Vincent to save all of us. To save me! Now you want to kill him for that?”

I look down at Dante. “Is this true?” I ask, nudging his head with the barrel of my gun. He nods in response.

“See. We don’t have a choice anymore. We have to run,” Gia urges. “All of us. If we stay, we’re dead.”

The gun in my hand trembles. “Fuuuuuuck!” The word erupts from my lips in a violent release of rage. My arm falls to my side, the gun no longer an extension of my will.

I turn and begin to pace as I process the new circumstances. Gia’s wide eyes lock onto mine, imploring as she moves away from Dante and inches closer to me.

My chest tightens. A deep, guttural breath forces its way in, dragging clarity along with it.

“Dammit,” I mutter, the words barely audible.

Gia is right. Running is the only option. If we stay, death is inevitable. On top of it all, time is against us. They may have already figured out it’s Dante on that footage, and if that’s the case, it won’t be long until they come for him.

“Okay.” I nod once sharply.

“Okay?” Gia repeats.

“We run,” I agree.

“All of us?” she confirms.

“Yes,” I confirm, doing my best to bury my anger with Dante, at least for the moment. “All of us.”

My gaze flicks to Nico. “Gia and I already have everything we need with us. How fast can you get your shit together?”

“Fuck, uh...” Nico glances over at Dante as he thinks about the question. “I don’t know. I just need to run to my place and grab my passport and some clothes. I can be in and out in ten minutes.”

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