Page 103 of Sixth Sin

I swear to fuck, I almost pull the trigger. One bullet and it’d be over.

One problem solved.

But that leaves the others. I’d be behind bars, leaving Rubio and Luciano to run free. Angel would learn the truth, and I wouldn’t be there to take her someplace safe this time.

Releasing my hold from his throat, I pull my gun back and drive my fist into his ribs. “I’ll handle my mother.”

He lets out a rattled laugh. “Like you handle things for Luciano?”

I still, my finger curled around the trigger. He can’t know. The odds are impossible. Luciano is too calculated. Too careful. Too premeditated to risk knowledge buried under blood oaths and death.

Rosten’s nostrils flare as he stands, straightening his blood-stained suit jacket. “I told you, boy. I run this town. No one takes a shit without me knowing it. You won’t do a damn thing but tuck your limp dick between your legs and go back to your piece of shit gossip rag.”

I raise my gun, pointing it right between his eyes. “And if I don’t?”

He walks forward, standing right in front of the barrel, daring me to pull the trigger. “I’ll finish what Freddy Wiseman started.”

I don’t see Angel on Sunday.

Even though she sent five more texts and three more voicemails, I ignored them all. My mind was too muddled to deal with questions I couldn’t answer. After leaving Silverline, I took care of a few loose strings then went back home, got on my Harley, and drove.

I had no destination. I just needed an open road and the roar of the engine to clear my head. To plan. To figure out how to check off the rest of my boxes.

Now here I am pacing the inside of the garage elevator at the Romanov mansion at eleven-thirty on Monday night. She’s not going to like what I have to say, but there’s no other option. I got her into this mess, and I’ll get her out of it.

I did it once. I can do it again.

It took every ounce of restraint I had in me to let her step foot on that studio lot today, but one call to Brent set my nerves at ease. He promised to be her shadow, and since I didn’t get a call all day, I assume that bastard kept his hands to himself.

As soon as the elevator doors open, Angel runs straight into me and buries her face in my chest. “Thank God, you’re here. I don’t know what to do. She didn’t even say goodbye. That’s not like her. I know I told her to leave, but all her stuff is still here, so I called the bar, but no one’s seen her. I called the apartment. Nothing.” She looks up at me, those earthy green eyes frantic as they search mine for an answer. “Why wouldn’t she say goodbye?”

“What are you talking about?”

Her shoulders sag, the dark circles under her eyes more prominent than ever. “Violet’s missing.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

ANGEL

For the last hour, Dominic and I have sat in silence on opposite ends of the cinema room couch. I don’t know why we ended up here. Maybe because it’s the room most likely to contain whatever ugly truth eventually spills out of both of us.

We’re both swimming in oceans of lies, barely keeping our heads above water. But the sea is a vast, dark place, and we can only fight for so long before we both slip under the surface. Dominic has retreated into a dangerous shell I’m afraid to break, and I’m haunted by a nightmare that won’t leave me.

The girl in my dream looked like me. A mirror image, but different. I know her. I’ve heard her voice so many times before. In dreams. In my head. In whispers. But seeing her and touching her has changed everything.

“You’ve protected her for so long, but she’s getting stronger. You know it; you just can’t see it.”

Brenda McCallum’s words echo in my head, and I know she was right. I’ve known it all along, and last night the power shifted, and I became the weak one. I’m no longer in control.

“I want you to break your contract.”

The words feel like a punch to the chest. My nails dig into my arms as I turn to face him. “What?”

Dominic doesn’t look at me, his body remaining rigid as he continues to stare at the blank screen. “Quit the movie. Tomorrow.”

“I can’t quit.” I know he hates Rosten, but this whole thing was his idea. His elaborate scheme. He pushed me toward him. He told me to sign with Silverline. I’m not sure what wires crossed in his brain, but we’re in too deep to walk away now.

Snapping his head around, he glares at me. “You have the money, so buy out your contract. Just don’t go back there.”

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