Page 95 of Twisted Games of Revenge

I look him dead in the eyes, my heart racing in fear. “Go on, kill me then just like you did my papa. You’re a fucking coward hiding behind Enzo to sneakily get what you want. Be the fucking man you want to be and end me like we both know you want to.”

His finger twitches, and I know he’s considering it. “Let Enzo go and the two of us walk out of here.” His voice trembles, and I see the fear in his eyes. He’s gone too far and picked the wrong side, and now he knows he’s fucked. But it’s too late for him to change his mind. He sided with Enzo the day he killed my papa and forced me into this hell.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I find Geovani finally. He moves quickly from his vantage point and jumps down to the stage, closing in on him. “Marco, you lay a finger on her and your life won’t be worth living.”

Tension hangs heavy in the air as they all watch him like a hawk. Both Ricky and Maddox have their guns aimed at him, but if they shoot, they risk him shooting me. I find Maddox’s eyes. Marco was like a brother to him. They grew up together, pledged to the family together, their bonds were thick well before any of them knew me.

“Do it,” I whisper, knowing this shit won’t end until they both do.

Maddox looks me over, and I see the way he’s assessing the situation. He knows the second he pulls the trigger I’m dead as well. But what other choice does he have? They can’t let him, and Enzo continue their reign of terror.

Dani, her hands shaking violently, appears on stage behind us with a gun drawn. She’s a mess, her cheeks tear-stained, her once designer dress torn and marked. But there is a look in her pretty eyes that tells me she knows exactly what she’s doing. “Put your fucking gun down, you piece of shit.” A woman in pain, she screams at Marco, her voice raw with anguish, the sound echoing through the air. He cruelly used and then discarded her, leaving her heartbroken and shattered.

Marco’s angry gaze shoots up to meet hers. A wave of irritation washes over him as he surveys the scene. He lets out a low laugh. “What are you going to do, sweetheart? You couldn’t fire a gun if your life depended on it. You’re pathetic, Dani, you can’t be surprised I discarded you after you served your purpose. After all, every man does.” He averts his eyes from her, the silence heavy as they land on me. He’s not worried one bit that she will hurt him.

He carries the same cockiness that Enzo does. They both think women are good for one thing only. But from the corner of my eye, I see it. She’s more powerful than he ever believed, and he just gave her the bait she needed to pull the trigger.

I nod just the once, giving her the go-ahead. This man is dead to me anyway.

Marco stumbles back, and it takes me that long to register she shot him right in the chest. She did exactly what he thought she was too pathetic to do. And I couldn’t be prouder of her.

He drops to the ground, clutching at his chest, blood seeping between his fingers. I stare back at him, watching as he takes his final breaths, numb like I’m watching a movie of this happening to someone I don’t know at all. Not the man who helped raise me.

Behind him I see Dani fall to her knees, completely devastated, she wails in pain as she clutches her head in her hands, tears streaming down her face.

I crawl to her, throwing my arms around her. “You did good,” I whisper through my pain.

She sobs uncontrollably, gripping me so tightly her fingernails dig into my skin. I’m horrified for her. She really loved my brother, but she knew it was the only way.

I hold her back, staring at him, thinking I should feel something seeing him slowly bleeding out. He clutches his chest in agony, but we all know there is nothing he can do now. He’s lost too much blood, his crisp white shirt now a scarlet red that seeps over his fingers. His attention focuses on us, blinking back as more blood gurgles up and out of his mouth.

Alex moves into his side and positions his gun to his forehead. “You chose your side brother,” he says, pulling the trigger close range, making sure there is no question if he was going to die or not. He’s gone.

Malachi and Geovani are right there with us. Malachi pulls Dani back toward him as she falls apart completely. And Geovani is right there on the stage with me, cradling me in his arms. He draws me in close, so close I can feel his erratic heartracing out of control. “How bad is it, Red.” His eyes search mine for answers I can’t give him.

I shake my head, strands of sweat-drenched red curls falling across my face like a curtain. “The baby.” A soft sob escapes my lips.

“Fuck.” His eyes flicker to Ricky, a silent communication passing between them that I understood instantly. We need to get out of here.

Geovani collects me in his arms, cradling me carefully. The fear in his eyes scaring me.

Ricky joins us on the stage, looking me over with concern, his hand coming to my forehead. “We have to make this quick, she needs help,” he tells Geovani.

“Sorry it’s not the poetic ending you wanted for him, Red.” Geovani offers me a half smirk, something in it making me huff out a laugh.

My anger turns to Enzo, the pathetic man whimpering in the arms of two oversized Stryker brothers. They have had their fun messing him up a little while we were preoccupied with Marco. He now sports a solid black eye, and both his front teeth are missing. There is also a good amount of blood leaking from his forehead. Geovani carries me down the stairs of the stage. I wince in pain with every step, but I know I need to do this. Just like Dani needed to make sure the man who took everything he could from her, then tried to sell her, met his maker.

Alex hands me his knife. My knife. The one Geovani originally gave me to protect myself and the very same knife I killed their cop friend with when he attacked me.

As we approach Enzo, he thrashes against the men restraining him. “Make him kneel,” I tell the boys as Geovani helps me down to standing.

As I have instructed, they force him to his knees in front of me. He stares up at me, a quivering mess. “The big powerful leaderreduced to a sobbing sack of shit,” I say, making sure to meet his bloodshot eyes. I want to be the last thing he sees. For him to know why I’m the one taking the final blow to him. “You stole my family, my fucking life. You stole all of our lives and thought you could get away with it too. But let me get one thing very fucking clear. I am not my mother, and I will never fucking bow for you. You however look perfect at my feet.” I stumble, sucking in a labored breath, too weak to hold myself up.

Maddox is right there by my side, holding my hand to give me the strength I need. I hold up my blade, watching the way the metal shines in the light. Then I suck in a deep breath, filling my lungs. I have waited for this moment for so long I can hardly believe I finally get to take what I need from him. Like he has taken so much from me.

In one quick move, I use all the energy I have left to plunge my knife deep into the side of Enzo’s neck, just once, right as Geovani taught me. It’s all I had in me, and it’s all I needed. He will bleed out quickly now.

His face blurs, blood gushing out as he cries out in pain. A slow smile stretches across my face as I collapse back into Maddox’s arms, and I succumb to the radiating pain that now controls my body, and everything goes black.

---