Page 26 of Enzo

The knife lands near my ankle this time. I try to kick my legs out, but I still can’t move them.

“Inch by inch, I’m going to reveal your skin. I’m going to mark it. And only when there’s nothing left to cut off you, will I take what I deserve,” Frank hums.

The tip of the blade travels up my leg, digging a little deeper this time without causing any major damage. He doesn’t want me bleeding out just yet. Unfortunately.

Closing my eyes, I try to find a different place. I need to be somewhere else. Anywhere that’s not here. And, of course, the first thing I see again is Enzo’s face. At least he’ll never know who I was. He won’t have to find out. I won’t have to see the disgust staring back at me. Or the hatred.

It wasn’t supposed to end like this, though. What I thought would be a rather simple infiltration turned out to be the last case I’ll ever work on. And I failed. Worse than that, I didn’t even try. I never once looked for anything to use against Enzo’s family. I was in his home and I didn’t use the opportunity to find anything… something.

What if he finds out who I am and I never get the chance to tell him that I changed my mind? I don’t want to see him behind bars. I don’t want to build a case against him. All I want to do is go back to last night…

Either I’m delusional and am losing more blood than I thought. Or I’m having one of those weirdlife flashing before your eyesmoments, where things that seemed so complicated yesterday are suddenly crystal clear.

Not that it matters. Because I’m screwed. There’s no getting out of this for me.

Chapter Nineteen

It took twenty-five minutes and fifteen seconds to narrow down Frank’s location. It wasn’t hard. The old prick ran his mouth all over the city, bragging about what he was planning.

“Come on, Pops, this car goes faster,” I tell my father, who insisted on driving. He says I’m not in my right mind. He doesn’t get it. My mind has never been clearer in my life.

I’m going to find Frank. I’m going to kill the old bastard, and then I’m going to charm the fuck outta Kayleigh and convince her that the fine line that separates the good guys from the bad guys has a shit-ton of gray between it.

And my family and me? We’re as gray as they come.

Do we have our fingers in illegal trade? Yes, we also have just as many legitimate businesses, and we also have morals. I don’t just go around shooting people for the fun of it. I’m not a fucking serial killer. And the people I have had to take down? Well, let’s just say society is much better off without them.

“When we get there, I don’t want you running in guns blazing, Enzo. Follow my lead,” Pops tells me.

“Sure,” I agree, even though I have no intention of doing that. I’m not waiting for an invitation to storm that house.

The moment we pull up, I spot the two Valentino SUVs parked across the street. Watching as my uncles and cousins pile out.

“Guess it’s a family affair,” I mutter under my breath.

“She’s your wife, remember? We would never stand for someone coming after one of our wives.” Pops smirks at me.

I know he thinks the wordwifeis going to make me cringe. And usually, any other time with any other girl, it would have. But I don’t hate the idea of being tied down to Kayleigh for the rest of my life.

“Here’s the plan. There are ten in there. Eight on the ground floor and two in the basement. Alessandro and Romeo are going in through the back. Luca and Orlando through the side,” Zio Theo says before pointing to my pops, me, and then himself. “We’re going straight through the front door.”

I nod. “How do you know how many are in there?” I ask him.

Just as he’s about to answer me, I hear a scream. And not just a scream, the sound of a woman crying out in pain. Without another thought, I run towards the front of the house. My footcomes up before slamming into the door. I have a pistol in each hand. The screams only get louder when I slink through the entryway.

I fire off four rapid shots, getting the first two guys to take aim at me. Gunshots ring out through the air. I duck behind a door right before a bullet whizzes past my head.Fucker.

“Stay the fuck down,” my dad yells at me.

I can’t though. I can still hear her. Even over the gunshots, I can hear her screaming. The need to get to her overrides my natural instinct of survival. “You guys deal with these assholes. I’m going to find her,” I tell Pops and then I’m running through the hall. A burning pain rips through my shoulder. I don’t stop to look at who the fuck just shot me. I need to get to her.

Following the screams, I find the door to the basement. It opens and some fat fucker stops short in front of me. He takes one look at my face and his eyes widen right before I put a bullet through them. I step over his body, run down the stairs, and freeze.

Kayleigh is tied up, and that old fucker Frank is hacking away at her jeans. It’s not until I step right up behind him that I see he isn’t just slicing at her clothing. He’s fucking slicing away at her skin. She’s got gashes all over her body.

The barrel of my gun hits the side of his head. The fucker was so engrossed in what he was doing he didn’t hear me come down. I wait for him to look at me. “You fucked up, Frank.”

“Fuck off, Valentino. She’s not your wife. She’s a fucking filthy pig,” he sneers.

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