Page 64 of The Devil's Pawn

Enzo fires a bullet into Victor’s temple before I get the chance to slash his throat. He stares hard at the dead man before us, his gaze full of torment, one we all know too well. Then he shoots another bullet into the man’s heart.

But he doesn’t stop. The bullets fly one by one until there are too many holes to count.

“I couldn’t fucking listen to his mouth for another second,” he explains, tone even, as he walks to the accountant.

The man’s body trembles, stunned with heavy silence.

“You have two seconds before he slices your throat.” Enzo gestures to me with a tilt of his head. “I can tell he really needs it, and I’m not one to refuse my brother.”

“I’m s-s-sorry,” he cries. “I ca—”

My knife cuts across his throat before he can even finish. A thick layer of crimson oozes from his neck as he stares at me unblinkingly.

I retrieve my other knife from Victor’s thigh, then stroll back to the case filled with my other weapons and remove a black cloth, placing both blades on top of it.

“I’ll call the cleaners,” Enzo says. “And when we find the Bianchis, we’re gonna find out exactly what happened to Mom.”

“I think he was telling the truth.” I turn toward him. “It all makes sense now. Why they hated us. How weird it was for Mom to be killed by a drunk driver during the day. Both of them dead while the cars weren’t even that damaged. We saw the pictures. You know it’s true.”

He grips the back of his neck, the gun at his thigh.

“Yeah.” He nods, his jaw flexing. “We have to tell Dom.”

“I know. The Bianchis ruined our family more than we even thought.”

CHAPTERSIXTEEN

RAQUEL

After he leftand I returned to our room, I wanted more than anything to walk back down and creep into the basement. I wanted to know if he was telling the truth about those men. But I also wanted to see what he’d do to them, to know what he’s capable of.

When I first saw the men being carried in like cattle and the demonic look in Dante’s eyes, I was paralyzed with fear. It wasn’t that I was scared of him. I was terrified of the entire situation as I realized that, once again, I’d found someone like my father.

For my entire adulthood, I’ve wanted nothing to do with the life of crime I was born into. But it always finds me in the shadows, as though it’s a part of me, even though I’ve cast it away.

But I hope Dante is different. I hope he’s nothing like my father. Though we might not have forever, we have right now. And right now, I still want him.

An hour later, I’m still in the bedroom, the door ajar like he asked. Not knowing when he’ll be done, I head for the shower and turn on the near-scalding water before I strip off my clothes, leaving them in a pile on the floor. I step inside, needing the heat to waft over my body and melt away the cruelty of my existence.

How did my life become such a mess?

I wonder what my parents are doing. Are they looking for me? Do they think I’m hurt?

I feel bad for putting them through this, but not bad enough to see them before I run off to another country. I’ll send them a letter once I’m gone to let them know I’m safe, but never coming back. Hopefully they’ll understand why I did it, but if not, I’m okay with that.

The water falls over my hair, dripping down my back. With shampoo in my palm and my eyes closed, I start to massage my scalp.

My thoughts go to Dante, wondering if he’s done with…

With murder? God, even saying that is insane.

The guy I like is probably killing someone. Right now.

As I pick up the body wash, I hear the creaking of the door behind me, then the sound of it gently clicking shut.

He’s here.

My body prickles with awareness as dense as the steam floating through the room, while the fog rises higher, clouding over my vision.