Page 32 of As Angels Sin

Father hasn’t managed to get his gun, when my eyes meet his face. He hoists his hands into the air, and his eyes are so terribly wide, I fear they might pop out of their sockets. He moves his mouth to say something, but a loud bang silences him. He falls into his chair, clasping his chest and a pool of red forms instantly on his powder blue button-up.

“Everyone’s got a lot to say, until they have point three-five-seven inches of scorched lead stuck in them.” Tomas approaches Father slowly, but not cautiously.

I don’t realize I’ve started crying until I feel a tear rolling down my cheek and falling into my still ajar mouth. I don’t understand the strange mix of emotions that course through me. They are not sadness, or anger, or fear of what might come next. I feel hollow and empty, with all the above fading into the ringing in my ears.

“What have you done?” Father asks, writhing in pain. His voice is so soft, so timid.

“I’ve set loose the dogs of war, Lorenzo. Those vicious monsters you tried so hard to keep hidden. Your death serves as their call.” Tomas lifts his gun again, pressing it against Father’s chest. “Your death serves as their clarion, ushering in a new rule.But know this, as you lie here dying. I still intend to take your bitch as mine. It will be a marriage of convenience, as she put it. Self-serving, as you did.” He turns his head to the side and snickers. “Well, she’ll be conveniently serving my cock until I get bored of her.”

“No, don’t—” I find my words, just as Tomas pulls the trigger again.

There’s no more fight from Father. He’s not trying to put pressure on his wound or to fight death’s call. His body falls limp, and with a wheeze, his last breath slips from his lips.

“What have youdone?” There it is, the sadness, making me bawl my eyes out as I stare at the men in front of me.

“Welcome to the dawning of a new era.” Tomas’s lost his fucking mind, and is screaming at me maniacally while hovering over my father’s body. “An iron-fisted rule. A conquest for New York and the poor souls inhabiting it.”

I scream. I cry for help, and make noises I never thought my frame could emit. I try to alert the Napoli men to what’s happening in here. But then I hear another gunshot, and after that another. The sounds set off a cacophony of thunderous claps that drown out my voice with their violence.

“Hear that?” he raises a cupped hand to his ear, listening to the noise outside. “The tolling bells of my coronation. They are bringing inmynew dynasty. And, most importantly, Fia, those glorious sounds are my reminder to you...”

I collapse to my knees, unable to look away from my father, who is lying stiffly in his chair. A bloodied hand still rests on his chest and his eyes are still big and frozen in terror.

“You belong to me,” Tomas finishes his wild speech, and cocks his neck to the side. “And there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Chapter Fifteen

CRUE

Time to go.

“You fucking think so?” I’m crouched over, drawing a pocket-sized nine-millimeter pistol from its ankle holster. I rarely carry a gun, but ever since I started playing this dangerous game, I thought it wise to have a back-up to my six-inch dagger.

A whole lot of good it’ll do, when someone’s got a gun pointed at my chest.

“What about Fia?” I ask, though I don’t suspect my shadow’s going to care all that much. It’s a single-minded entity, with self-preservation as its goal. Since I’m its self, keeping me alive is all it ever cares about.

Leave her. If she isn’t dead already, we’ll find another way to get her out.

I can’t tell if this is an attempt to console me or if my shadow is pussy-whipped. Wouldn’t be the first monster she managed to trap.

But it’s right... I’m right... whatever the fuck is going on with the voice in my head, it is right. I won’t be much help to Fia, if I’m dead. And given the sounds of war that are blaring throughout the Napoli mansion, it just might happen anyway. Good intentions can’t stop a bullet.

I hide myself away in one of the many bedrooms in the east wing of the house, until the shooting stops, and then I hide some more. I’d usually hate this. Sitting idly by, unable to do anything, but not today. My mind hasn’t stopped spinning since I heard Tomas say he and Fia were engaged.

Not that I give a fuck about his bullshit marriage. In the short time I’ve known her, Fia has expressed her disgust for the engagement at every opportunity. But what got me, and what is actively keeping me hidden, is the reasons Tomas killed Lorenzo. This insurrection must have been planned well in advance, if Tomas has had the time to sow the seeds of dissent within the Napoli capos’ ranks.

He must have carefully planned the mass murder that’s happening outside the walls of this lavish bedroom. It’s one that I wasn’t invited to. Which my shadow and I are both very sour about.

However, with every ticking second my gut instinct tells me that the answer is close. That the men responsible — yes, men, and Tomas isn’t a part of their league — are the very same ones who brought me back to New York, and who wanted to shield me from getting too close to whatever this is. I will have my answer soon. Then, I will decide who must pay the price, for Fiametta’s suffering.

So, I wait until the sun goes down and night consumes the land. I make my escape among its shadows; the same way I have done many times already.

Stay strong, Fiametta. You won’t have to be alone for long.

***

Three Days Later

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