Page 53 of Spiteful Heart

Harvey tried to keep hold of me as we started walking toward the front doors, but I shook him off, partly because I didn’t want to start to rely on him so much—technically he was only an employee, even if he had saved my life. And also partly because I didn’t want anyone in Newton’s company to see how weak I currently was.

Yeah, no working out for me for a while. Hell, I bet the doctor would be pissed at me going out and doing this. But bedrest was just… it got old after a few hours; you could only stare at the ceiling or watch TV for so long before going insane.

Harvey released me, hurrying head to get the door. It was unlocked, the glass as clean as it could be, and he held it open for me as I walked inside.No more black spray paint to hide the horrors inside.

Newton stood deep in the club, near the base of the stage. He was on the phone, talking to someone, pacing back and forth in a ten-foot line, a single hand in his suit pocket. He had two menacing-looking guards standing nearby, wearing all black and frowning at me as I walked in. I held my head high, because ain’t nobody gonna intimidate me. I’d faced worse.

The place looked cleaned up, and the air smelled fresh and clean. You’d never know a body was found here not so long ago, that blood had stained the wood on the stage and dripped off its sides.

But that’s the thing about this city: looking at it, you’d never know how ugly its people were, how thick the blood in the streets could run. On the outside, it was just another city, sparkling in the daytime and all neon lights at night. But, really, this was basically Gotham 2.0.

When Newton saw me approaching, he stopped pacing, turning his stare in my direction. “I’ll have to call you back,” he told whoever he was talking to, hanging up before giving the other person a chance to say anything in response. He was definitely the type of man who liked being in charge, having power and giving orders. I couldn’t blame him, though.

Having the power and the respect that came with it… it was nice.

Harvey hung back, near the bar. Far enough away to give us some privacy, but close enough that, if needed, he could spring into action and once again save the day. Don’t tell him, but after that one time of being saved, I was done playing the damsel. Being a badass was so much more fun.

Speaking of being a badass, my mask had been gouged a bit by old Knife-Hands. It wasn’t broken, but after a quick call to Fang, I was told that he could fill the gouge with something, some molten metal that would cool and fill the line Tony’s jagged knife had created in its steel when he’d pulled it off my face.

Newton slipped his phone into his pocket, stepping toward me. “What is it?” he asked, frowning slightly at me. It was obvious the man wasn’t too thrilled with seeing me, and after everything, I couldn’t blame him. When I showed my face here, chaos tended to follow.

I gestured to the closest table. “Let’s sit.” I really wasn’t feeling steps right now, so a table in front of the stage it was. I moved slowly, holding back a groan as I sunk to the chair near the closest round table. The booths were on either side of the club, but directly in front of the stage, only tables sat.

Newton took the seat opposite mine, a mere two feet in between us over the table. He waved his two guards away, and they wandered toward Harvey near the bar, giving us a semblance of privacy. “I trust this is important,” he said, eyeing me up, undoubtedly noticing how stiff I was. “I’m a busy man, Lola.”

“Yes, I’m sure you are,” I spoke with a smile. “But it is important. I wanted to be the one to tell you.” Sylvester might’ve had the scenes cleaned and the bodies disposed of, but it wasn’t far-fetched to believe Newton hadn’t heard about the showdown.

“Tell me what?”

“The killer,” I started, tapping the table with my left hand. “He’s someone who’s had it out for me for a while. He also had it out for you because of what you did. Don’t worry, though, he’s taken care of. The asshole is deader than a doornail—huh. Is that a weird as fuck saying, or is it just me? How can a doornail be dead?”

Newton chose to ignore the last half of that, saying, “He’s dead? You sure?” When I nodded, he added, “Who was it?”

I slapped the table. “Now that, you’re not gonna want to believe. Hell,Ididn’t want to believe it either, and I saw him with my own eyes.” Images of Tony’s hunched, sickly figure rose up in my head, how angry he’d been, how his eyes had already looked dead. “Tony Torio, a man you and I both know very well.”

That got him to blink. I know, I know, not exactly theoh my Godresponse I was looking for, but I’d take an incredulous blink over nothing.

And, yes, a blink could definitely be incredulous.

“Tony?” he repeated his name, shifting his weight as he leaned forward, eyes on me. “After I gave him to you, I thought you—”

“I did. I had my guys take him to the waterfront, and then I cut off his hands. He was tossed in the river, along with his hands. He was dead—or, at least, I thought he was.” I let out a chuckle. “Turns out, he wasn’t. Someone was watching me that night, and they saved him. Tried to reattach his hands, or one of them, or something, and it didn’t work. So, instead of hands, he had these knife things…” I trailed off when I saw Newton’s expression.

Nowthatwas an incredulous look.

“What?” I questioned.

“This has got to be some kind of sick joke,” he muttered with a frown, suspicion in his eyes.

“No, it’s not. It was Tony. I saw him with my own eyes. I heard him speak. I never thought… I would’ve bet my life that he was dead that night. Out of everyone it could’ve been, I never would’ve guessed him.”

All Newton could do was stare at me, as if he still didn’t believe me.

“He was a dead man walking, Newton. His skin was all yellow, and his eyes were nasty-looking—the man was on borrowed time as it was, so I guess he decided to make the most of it and start killing in my name.” I shrugged, trying to play it off, like it didn’t really bother me. Newton probably saw through it, so I didn’t know why I bothered.

“And you are sure he’s dead this time?”

“Oh, yeah, deader than dead. Harvey put a bullet in him. Two, actually—and the one in the head seemed pretty final to me.” I sighed and shook my head once. “We think whoever pulled him out of the water is still out there, somewhere, but the main threat is gone, so you’re free to open back up. You and your girls are safe… well, as safe as they can be here, anyway. If you happen to hear or see anything, though, I trust you’ll let me know.”

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