Page 97 of Sin and Deception

Had he ever even gotten his hands dirty?

He achieved prominence in his family only because his predecessors had passed away. Born into wealth and comfort, he likely never cleaned a dish himself.

A slow smile spread across my face.

“Gusto,” I said, chuckling. “Why are you so nervous?”

He took a step toward me but stopped again, waving the gun around.

“I’m not.”

“Have you ever killed anyone?” I asked, tilting my head to the side. “You haven’t, have you?”

“I’m about to kill you.”

I nodded, my eyes scanning up and down his body, assessing him.

“You’ve found yourself at the head of a mafia syndicate. But you’ve never done your dirty work yourself, have you? Why are you here now?”

“I told you. Revenge.”

“But you don’t want anyone to know. What’s your plan? Sneak out without being seen? Do you really think nobody will notice you?”

“I took precautions,” he said, eyes darting to the camera outside the door.

“Is that so? What did you do?”

“I recruited a Harvard student to assist me in breaching your security system. He programmed it to loop so that no one would notice my entry,” he said, a sense of pride evident in his voice.

“I understand. So, you plan to kill me, and you took it upon yourself to do the job to avoid any snitches, correct? It must be difficult for you to have so little faith in your own people.”

“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”

“Don’t I?” I asked, lifting a brow. “If you were a realgodfather, I wouldn’t have seen you coming, and you’d be on your way back home after having left me on the floor to bleed out. But you’re not, are you? No, you use the only strength and power at your disposal to get things done—money. What a fucking coward you are, Gusto.”

My words hung true and heavy in the air. His eyes dilated with anger, and I knew I had called him out correctly. I tried to avoid smirking, but his incompetence was amusing.

My phone buzzed from its spot on the table, and I figured it was probably Theo again. I hadn’t replied to his first text, so he was likely getting antsy.

It was almost time to start the ceremony.

I thought about Nerine. She probably looked like an angel already in her wedding dress. I couldn’t wait to see her walk down the aisle. I had dreamed of this day for years.

And I wasn’t about to let this prick take that opportunity away from me.

Not a coward like him.

Another bead of sweat slid down his face, his hand still trembling.

I weighed my options. I needed to move this along. Which meant I needed to kill this asshole so I could go marry the loves of my life and begin the next chapter of our story.

There was no fucking way I was going to let this be the end.

“People are looking for me,” I said, pointing my chin toward the phone.

“Let them look.”

“You’re going to make me late for my wedding, Gusto.”

---