Page 47 of Edge

“Do not fucking move,” I said, sounding more confident than I felt.

I didn’t want to give him an opportunity to get up and overpower me by taking my eyes off him to find my phone, so I kept the gun trained on him and slowly moved toward the landline mounted on the wall behind the front counter.

“Hello,” Edge answered, sounding sleepy and slightly confused.

“I just shot my father, and I don’t know what to do,” I blurted. “He hurt Irene, and she needs help. Maybe Tony and Bart, too.”

“Is your father dead?”

“No, he’s not. I hit him twice, and he’s on the ground, but he’s very much alive.”

“Keep your gun aimed at him and shoot him again if he moves,” he said. “Stay on the phone with me. I’ll have someone there to help you soon.”

Using my shoulder to keep the phone pressed to my ear, I focused on the piece of shit lying on the floor. I desperately wanted to check on Irene, but I knew he’d kill us both if I gave him the chance.

I could hear Edge shouting, followed by a lot of activity on the other end of the line, but I wasn’t paying any attention to what he was saying. In fact, I was so focused on making sure Muzzle didn’t so much as twitch that I screamed like a banshee and almost fired another shot when a voice sounded behind me. “Evie, I’m here to help.”

I risked glancing over my shoulder, but I didn’t see anyone and briefly wondered if I had imagined the voice. “Where are you?”

A well-dressed man slowly stepped around the corner with his hands raised in front of him. “Edge requested my assistance,” he said and gestured to the phone dangling by its cord. I must have dropped it when he startled me.

I brought the receiver to my ear and heard Edge’s frantic voice. “Evie! Can you hear me? Is Luca there?”

“I’m here,” I said into the phone and looked at the man with his hands still raised in front of him. “Are you Luca?”

“Yes,” he said calmly. “Luca Peccati.”

Evidently, Edge heard him answer me. “Let him help you. Do what he says, okay? I’ll be there soon.”

“Irene,” I whispered.

“Evie,” he said firmly. “Listen to Luca.”

“Okay,” I promised and turned to Luca. “He said I should listen to you and do what you say.”

Luca lowered his hands and moved toward me hesitantly. “My associates and I are going to remove Muzzle from the premises and clean up behind him. Once we’re gone, you will call nine-one-one and tell them what you found when you arrived. Muzzle was never here. You don’t know who did this or what happened. How many shots did you fire?”

“Two,” I said weakly. Thoughts swirled in my mind, leaving me in a daze.

Luca snapped his fingers and two men materialized seconds later. One of them kicked Muzzle in the head before they lifted him from the floor and carried him away. Two other men, or maybe it was the same guys, started cleaning Muzzle’s blood from the floor.

“I have the casings, sir,” one guy said.

“I’ll need your gun,” Luca said to me.

“What? Why?” I asked, feeling and sounding somewhat panicked.

“As a precaution. To prevent unnecessary questioning,” he said. “It will be returned to either you or Edge after everything is finished.”

“Okay,” I reluctantly agreed and placed the gun on the counter. My hands were shaking so badly I didn’t think I could safely hand it to him.

“Do you remember what to tell the police?” he asked.

“I found Irene like this when I arrived at work. I don’t know who did it or what happened.”

“Correct,” he said with a curt nod. “Don’t say any more than that and don’t volunteer any information. Edge will be here soon.”

“Okay,” I said. I felt lost and unsure of what to do next.

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