Page 137 of Vito

Aiken would never allow that to happen, though, I counter.

But doubt wars within me.How well do I know Aiken anymore?

No. If Aiken had known this was in the works, he would never have allowed me to take over as Gilly's owner-operator. He would have changed his will and deleted his email, so it would never have been sent to me.

That, I know for certain.

Which means I'm the only one who knows about this plan.

Somehow, I have to survive and escape to warn Vito.

Novak pushes in closer to me. He smells like stale cigarettes and death.

He pushes my hair back from my face. His eyes travel over my body, making me feel naked and violated.

"Such a beauty. It's a shame we can't keep you. But with that face and tits and ass… as a sex slave in the death ring…" He licks his lips. "I look forward to fucking you while we watch people kill each other, trying to survive, every time I visit the San Francisco location we're setting up."

"You're fucking sick." I force the words out around the bile that has rushed into my throat from the graphic, horrendous images that push forth.

I need to get free.

I pray to whatever higher power exists that Axin had eyes on me somehow, and he knows where I am. Or for me to get free and my hands on a phone to warn Vito before it's too late. Before these men have shattered me or have shipped me off to that heinous ring like they've threatened.

Even if I don't survive, as long as I can warn Vito about this horrific plan before it's too late, that will be enough.

Stay calm, sis. Situations like this are all about power.

I don't really believe my dead brother is channeling his voice into my head from the grave, but it's a reminder that Idoknow things about this world.

I have my own lived experience—both on the streets and all the years with Ohith and Axin.

Power. I need to take some back, throw them off kilter, make them worry, even scared, and try to gain an advantage that way.

Ohith. The Black Ghost.

He won't love that I outed his secret, but it's my only gambling chip at the moment. It might not stop them in what they're about to do to me, but it's a chance I'll have to take. And if I don'tsurvive, at least I know that Ohith will hunt these men down and slaughter them, and I can taunt them from the dead with 'I told you so.'

Amazu takes his knife back from Lixin and twirls it, weaving it through his fingers and over his knuckles. "I want to know about the successor plan, Eden." He had asked me that last night, too, when he was drunk.

I decide not to mention Ohith yet, wanting to see if they freely provide any other details. They believe I'm not getting out of here, and it's no threat to spill secrets to a dead woman walking.

"You said last night, Amazu, that it's hard to find the right fit, and I've only been in the role for a few months."

He studies me with his dark eyes and sniffs. "Your brother claimed he didn't have one, either."

I stiffen, and Lixin smiles, not missing my movement.

"Cunningham, the bitch, swore he had nothing filed with her," Amazu reveals.

That cunt bitch.

I knew something was off about with her. That's why, immediately after taking over my role, I hired a new lawyer.

Images of Gus—dead and broken—flood my head. If they discover he's my successor, I've placed him in their crosshairs. I looked closely into Gilly's successors; never has a staff member been named as one. Since Aiken hadn't selected Gus, I'm hoping these assholes don't even consider that I've chosen him.

"She doesn't have one," Mancini states with confidence. "She's a woman, a little bitch, operating in a big man's world."

Well, fuck you and your misogynistic views, Mancini. But they work well in this case. Keep underestimating me, you dick.

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