Page 26 of Smoke and Mirrors

As I pace the floor of my apartment trying to force myself not to walk back to her, I take deep breaths. My muscles ache from the scuffle at Club Menace with Roberto and his men.

Ringing pulls me from my racing thoughts as I pull my phone from my pocket to see Luca’s name lighting up my screen. “Shit!” Taking in a long breath, I grit my teeth and answer the phone. “Luca, I tried to—”

“Where the fuck were you? What the hell is going on with you and this chick? You’ve never let pussy distract you before?” he interrupts me with one question after the other, his words sending a furious rage through me.

“Hey! She’s not fucking pussy!” To me, she’s more like a beacon of light helping me escape my darkness. She’s my lighthouse when I’m lost at sea, guiding me with her brilliance along the right path through the dark. She’s the hope that will push me through. I’m so deep in the dark it scares me. I’m a killer—one that darkens your soul. It doesn’t matter the reasons behind the kill, death still brings darkness. And I’ve been in the dark for so long now, seeing her radiance only makes me more determined to follow her into the light.

“Jesus, man, do you hear yourself? If you weren’t distracted by her, Roberto would still be alive. Boss isn’t going to be happy. You know that, right?”

My mind wanders back to just an hour ago.

I raced off back toward to club as I heard the cab drive off with Lily and Molly inside, but I was too late. The Milanese Mafia were there, guns drawn and making their way into the fucking club.

I’d let my guard down, I’d left my post, and now Roberto was going to suffer because of my failures.

I ran as fast as I could to get to him, but as I entered the VIP area, gunshots were already being discharged. The crowd was disbursing, and my instincts kicked in. I raced to the first guy I saw, his arm outstretched with a pistol in hand. I slammed my palm into his arm, forcing his gun to drop to the floor as he turned to face me. My fist came up punching him right in the jaw, my knuckles crunched and ached as his head flew back, blood pooling from his mouth as I watched a tooth fly from his lips.

Screams echoed through the club as the patrons furiously tried to escape, spilling out into the street, while other members of the Seven came in and started to disarm the Milanese men. It was a hand-to-hand battle as I dodged out of the way of the guy’s knee coming up between my legs. Shifting to the side, I grabbed his head in a headlock and turned to the side, forcing off his airway. His hands flailed about through the air as one of his men stormed toward me, aiming his fist ready to punch my face. But as he threw his fist out, I ducked out of the way, taking his friend with me then leaned up kicking him right in the ribs. He dropped forward, and I dived down onto one knee breaking the guy in the headlock’s neck. He fell to the floor while I pulled out my gun from its hiding place at my ankle, brought it up and shot the other man directly in the chest. Blood bubbled out as he gurgled and tumbled forward onto me, then to the floor.

Standing up, I spun around to see Tanner being held and about to be punched in the stomach, so I raced over and whacked the guy in the face with my fist. He turned to me, his fists clenched at his sides and fitted with brass knuckles. He swung at me, as another guy to my left grabbed my attention while he raced toward me. The brass knuckles hit my lip, splitting it before I had time to react, forcing me to stumble slightly.

I shook my head and turned just in time to watch the running man leaping for me. As I ducked down, he jumped, springing over me onto knuckle guy, forcing them both to the floor. My fist came up punching the guy holding Tanner in the cheek, which caused him to release his stranglehold. Then Tanner pulled out a pistol and shot all of them without a second glance.

I nodded as we separated and continued on to find Roberto.

He can’t be dead.

I needed information from him—vital information, and if he were wiped out, it could ruin our future plans.

Looking over, I spotted the head of the Milanese Mafia. He had Roberto pinned against the bar. Gritting my teeth, I rushed forward, but without warning, two sets of arms grabbed me in a vise lock around my chest and began pulling me toward the exit. I fought and struggled, but the men were bigger than me, and even though I was battling with them as much as I could, Roberto faded into the distance while I was being dragged outside of the club.

One of them socked me in the eyebrow, and I was stunned to the spot for a second as I shook my head. The other guy released his hold, and I rested my hands on my knees trying to gather my bearings.

Looking up, I noticed a crowd of people streaming out of the club. People were everywhere as more gunfire echoed through the busy city streets. The flashes of light filtered through the windows and lit up the darkened night sky.

My feet felt heavy as I rushed back through the swarm of people trying to push my way back to Roberto.

Suddenly, a loud explosion resonated through the club. A shockwave knocked me off my feet as the sky lit up in a haze of yellows and reds, flickering through the fog of thick black smoke. Screams filtered through the streets as people ran in a mad dash to get away from the blast.

I was slightly disorientated from the epic boom. Looking up, I saw that Club Menace was now completely engulfed in fire, and it was obvious that some sort of explosive device had gone off. My heart raced, and my breaths came in short, sharp bursts hoping that the members of the Seven were out in time.

Rushing forward, I attempted to see if there was any way I could enter the club to check for survivors, but there was no way anyone could have survived that blast, not even Roberto.

He was dead.

And I had failed.

LILY

After Kace’s kiss last night, it’s safe to say I didn’t sleep much, and when I did, it was filled with dreams of him kissing me all over again. I just don’t understand why he’s gotten so under my skin. I know nothing about him. Other than these facts—he’s ridiculously fit and gorgeous, works for the Mafia, and is completely mysterious—I know nothing. But he has some sort of profound hold on me, some strange magnetism that keeps me wanting to be near him. A hold that keeps drawing me to him, even though every part of me—especially after seeing him banged up, again—is telling me to steer clear.

He is dangerous that much I know.

I shovel another spoonful of Fruit Loops into my mouth as I flick over the channels on the television. The cartoons are annoying me, so I turn to the news.

“Kingpin Mafia leader, Roberto Cavaleri, was killed last night in a yet-to-be explained explosion at Club Menace in downtown Washington DC. Police and forensics are on the scene investigating and are so far unable to determine the cause of the blast. It is said that along with the Mafia kingpin, an additional fourteen people died along with another twenty-four taken to the hospital with various injuries. We will report further as more information becomes available.”

Swallowing hard, I almost choke on the Fruit Loops in my mouth. Shaking my head and inhaling a deep breath, I place my bowl on the coffee table.

---