Page 81 of The Don's Deadly Assassin

I smile sadly. "I know. But it wasn't your choice, was it?"

Camela frowns. "I chose to kill him and steal his arrow. You should seek retribution."

"No," I say firmly. "The blame lies with the monster who shaped you since childhood. You are as much a victim as my friend."

I clasp her hands in mine. "You were only following the orders drilled into you. But from now on, you will have a choice."

Camela stares at our joined hands for a long moment. When she meets my eyes again, I swear I see a flicker of light in their dark depths. The faintest spark of hope.

I will keep you safe.

Chapter 29

Camela

I just stand there, as Vincenzo stares at me with a softness I never expected. The air between us is charged, and I can hardly believe what has just happened. I thought for sure he would be angry or upset with me, but instead, he seems almost...tender.

"Vincenzo," I say, my voice shaking slightly as I confront him. "Why don’t you hate me? I've taken countless, innocent lives, including the Professor’s, and yet you look at me like I'm something worth saving."

He sighs, his eyes searching mine before he speaks. "Camela, we all have darkness inside of us. It's part of being human. But I see the goodness within you despite everything you've been through."

I scoff, the bitterness in my laugh jarring even to my own ears. "Goodness? I'm not good, Vincenzo."

"That’s not true," he says softly, stepping closer until our bodies are mere inches apart. "I know what the Handler did to you, how he trained you to become the perfect killer. But that doesn't define who you are. You still have the capacity to care, to love."

"Love?" I sneer, the word feeling foreign on my tongue. "You think I'm capable of love? Maybe the only reason I love you is because of that arrow."

"Maybe," Vincenzo replies, his voice steady and sure. "But I’ve seen you care deeply for those around you. In this house, the way you speak with the housekeepers, how you make them laugh. Deep down, you’ve always been fighting this darkness. You were born with love, it was just ripped right from under you.”

His words pierce me like a thousand needles, the truth of them too painful to bear. How can he see something in me that's worth loving, when all I see is a monster?

"Vincenzo...I don't know if I can be the person you think I am," I whisper, tears welling up in my eyes. Finally, all the events from the past few days compound and catch up with me. My knees shake, giving way and I fall to the ground.

He follows me, sitting next to me as I begin to sob uncontrollably. I hide my face in my hands, choking on the tears and the lump in my throat, and the air I’m trying to gasp in. “I…I’ve done horrible, cruel things,” it all comes back to me. The hundreds of faces, the families I’ve torn apart.

“Remember the rabbit, Camela,” Vincenzo whispers, leaning close, his lips on my forehead. He inches his hand across my waist, pulling me closer, cradling me in his lap. I nuzzle my face into his shoulders, wetting his neck. “You saved it. You loved it. You could love anything, he just never let you.”

His words reverberate through me, finding their way into the darkest corners of my soul. The memory of that rabbit, wounded and trembling in the snow, flashes before my eyes. A flicker of warmth amidst the icy landscape of my past. I cling to that fragment of tenderness as if it were the most precious possession.

As Vincenzo's reassuring embrace envelops me, my mind drifts back to a time when my innocence remained intact. I remember the little girl who used to watch the fallen baby birds, her tender hands cradling the fragile creatures with care while she placed them back in their nests.

"Camela," Vincenzo whispers, his breath warm against my ear. "You've always been a protector, even before you ever had to protect me. It’s just that you were made to protect the wrong things, at the hands of a bad, bad man. You're stronger than you give yourself credit for. And I'm not going anywhere. I'll be here to help you, every step of the way."

As his words wash over me, I feel something inside me shift, like a door opening to a hidden room where my forgotten compassion lies dormant.

“I’m here to show you that you can love, and that you deserve to be loved.”

The way he tells me I deserve to be loved, with such conviction and surety, makes me melt into his arms. I can't help but wonder if maybe, just maybe, there's a chance for redemption after all.

I look up at him, through dew-ridden eyelashes, and bat them to remove the wet-stained view in front of my eyes. His face becomes clearer, his blue eyes drowning me in their gaze. “Y..You really think so? I have a chance at redemption?”

He leans over and brushes his fingers through my hair, guiding strands through his hands. He then rests his hand against my neck, inching me closer. “You never needed redemption. But, you seek it for yourself. I know you deserve to forgive yourself.”

My breath hitches in my throat, a glimmer of hope flickering within me. Vincenzo’s touch grounds me in a reality that I had long forsaken. As his fingertips trace the contours of my face, I can't help but lean into his touch, savoring the warmth and tenderness he offers so freely.

“You killed my friend, brought chaos to my door,” he bends forward and whispers against my lips. I frown. “But, huntress, I still fucking love you.”

I gasp, as he brushes his lips against my lower one. “Y…You know?”

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