Page 41 of Charity's Torment

“I wanted to continue living.”

A smile tipped the corners of my mouth, and I laughed. “How’s that working out for you?”

“Oisin was supposed to kill you while you were gone, therefore giving me an alibi. I didn’t think the dumb fuck would give his storyline before finishing the job.”

My laughter ceased, and I scowled with anger. “You severely underestimated me.” I moved my knife to his belly. “I’m going to paint the room red with your blood, Giovanni. And when I’m done, I’m going to bathe in it, but before I do, I have one more question. Do you know where my brother is?”

He shook his head. “No. I swear. I stopped watching him a long time ago.” His confession irritated me even more so. As if him being honest with me about this would make his pain any less painful. I had every intention of tearing him to shreds, no matter what his answer was.

That’s what I had suspected, though. He only cared for his vengeance. If the wheels of fate hadn’t veered so sharply against him, he wouldn’t be in this mess, and I would know where my brother was.

I slowly slid my knife deep into his gut, feeling the blade pop through each layer of skin, fat, and muscle. Giovanni screamed in anguish, and I stopped. “This is for trying to hurt Luca.” I grabbed the handle with both hands, gave it a twist, and jerked it down, cutting an eight-inch gutting gash across his belly.

Blood poured from the deadly wound. His guts tumbled out and hung from his belly while blood and other fluids streamed away. His shrieks vibrated across my skin, and I shivered with delight. I closed my eyes and took in his screams, harboring them away for a later date to relish.

His transgressions were more egregious than I think even he understood. He not only tried to kill Arturo, but he wanted to kill me, and in doing so, he would have killed my brother. For that alone, I should slaughter everyone he held dear. But I wasn’t a monster that couldn’t be controlled.

“That’s enough, Charity,” Luca said.

My eyes snapped open to find him standing at the doorway. He wasn’t angry and, for that, I was grateful, but he wasn’t pleased I was here.

“What are you doing out of bed?”

I peeked around Giovanni’s dangling body. “Would you believe me if I said I couldn’t sleep?” I bit my lip.

He tucked a hand into his pocket and rubbed his five o’clock shadow with the other, and exhaled. “Let’s go, baby. I’ve heard enough.”

There was that term of endearment again. I took a good hard look at Giovanni and logged his tortured body to memory. His blood poured down his leg and dripped off his big toe to the floor. I threw my bloodied knife to the side with a loud clatter and sulked.

Luca gently wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

I flipped the lights off, and the room plummeted back into darkness. “Enjoy Hell, Giovanni.”

Chapter 14

Icovered my mouth to conceal a giggle.

“What are you laughing about?” Nico asked while sitting next to me. His imposing size dwarfed my queen-sized bed.

I tipped my phone towards him so he could see the two turtles going slap-happy on each other.

“Easily entertained much?” He grinned and flipped the page on his law book.

“Lately, yeah. If it weren’t for my phone, the news, and watching the eye candy walk in and out of my room, I’d be losing my mind.” I waggled my eyebrows at him and smiled.

It’s been two weeks since the enforcer tried to carve out my liver, and I was ready to be free of the shackles I called bedrest. They forced me to stay put, not go anywhere, and do as I was told. Needless to say, they didn’t know who they were dealing with here. Once I became tired of Luca and his unending demands, I picked up my shit and headed back to my home with Nico firmly by my side. Mom dropped off soup twice the first week, leaving enough to put some in the freezer for the second.

These were the times I was grateful Luca wasn’t around—even though I secretly missed him. I couldn’t have the head of the Moreno family crashing at my place while I pretended to be sick with the flu.

“It’s good for you to be resting.”

“I have rested enough. I need to get up and get back to normal. My parents keep telling me to go to the doctor.”

Little did they know that I was leaving the house at night already and was watching Jose. The prick was boring and rarely left the crack house.

Nico chuckled, not taking me seriously.

I rolled out of bed. I found my shirt and tossed it over my head, then took off my night shorts. “Hey, turn this up. What’s going on?” I asked, pointing to the TV. He turned it up louder than needed.

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