Page 225 of Mafia Kings: Valentino

I grabbed the revolver in his hand first.

That was the most important thing – to stop him from firing.

Not only so he wouldn’t kill me, but so nobody would hear and come running.

I clamped a hand against the revolver’s hammer.

The fool hadn’t cocked it.

Even if he tried to pull the trigger, the hammer wouldn’t be able to move –

And if the hammer couldn’t move, the gun couldn’t fire.

Paolo struggled, but he was still disoriented by getting hit in the face.

That’s when I dropped down with all my weight pulling on his forearm –

And slammed his elbow across my bent knee.

I heard his armCRACKas it bent in a direction Nature never intended.

He screamed in agony –

But by then I’d knocked the gun out of his hand. It went clattering across the marble floor.

Paolo swung at my head with his left fist.

He didn’t land a solid punch, but even the glancing blow made me see stars.

I slipped behind him so I could use a chokehold to cut off his air.

I couldn’t take the chance that anyone would hear him scream again.

The fucker had just tried to blackmail me –

And threatened to rape the woman I loved.

So he was going todie.

As I put him in a chokehold, he reached over his head, trying to grab at me –

But I kicked his knees from behind.

His legs buckled –

And I SLAMMED his head into the tile floor.

Dazed, he stopped struggling for a couple of seconds.

A couple of seconds was all I needed.

I dragged him across the floor and into the bathroom, just five feet away –

Then plunged his head into the toilet.

When he realized what was going on, he tried to fight back –

But I stood up, grabbed his shoulders, planted a knee in the center of his back –

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