Page 110 of The Beautiful Dead

The newcomer moved with the kind of confidence that came from a lifetime of control. His tailored suit was expensive but understated, dark fabric crisp, untouched by the damp, blood-stained air of the warehouse. He carried himself like a man who had never known uncertainty, whose orders had never been questioned. Power wrapped around him like a second skin.

His gaze landed on me, slow and assessing. Not curious. Not intrigued. Just… amused. Like I was an attraction at a zoo. Like I was dirt beneath his shoe.

The side of his mouth curled. “So, you’re the little stray.”

My jaw tightened, my gaze flicking to Domino.

Ellio chuckled, tracking the movement with predatory satisfaction. “He killed two of our men when he realized we had you. Didn’t he Enzo?”

“He’s got a vicious right hook.”

“I did warn you all to be prepared. You know how many of our men he’s taken down single-handedly.” Salvator murmured his voice low, commanding. “But you didn’t listen, did you Diego? Mmm?”

The man beside him—Diego—tilted his head, looking me up and down like I was an anomaly he couldn’t quite figure out. Hewas broad-shouldered, with the solid build of a brawler, dark hair cut close to his scalp on the sides. His face was all sharp angles and harsh lines, a faint scar running down his cheek.

“He’s like a rabid dog,” Enzo muttered, voice laced with quiet menace. His gaze swept over me again, assessing, weighing. “What makes you worth killing for?”

I didn’t answer. My lips pressed into a tight line, a million retorts flickered through my mind. But I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of breaking my control.

“Enough, Enzo,” Salvatore said, voice calm, steady. Deadly. “This is going to be hard enough as it is. For all of us.”

“But why now?” Diego’s expression hardened, but he was watching his father closely. “Federico is weak.”

Luca scoffed. “He’s been weak for years.”

“The time is right,now,” Salvatore snapped.

Spines straightened instantly. His presence pressed down on the room, suffocating, absolute. A king among wolves.

“He knows enough now to accept what I’m going to tell him is the truth.”

Enzo exhaled sharply. “And if he doesn’t?”

Salvatore rolled his eyes before pinning his sons with a single look. The air turned thick. Heavy. A presence so sharp it cut like a blade. One by one, they fell silent.

“He knows Federico murdered Catalina.” Salvatore’s voice was quieter now but somehow heavier. Weighted with loss that seemed so far removed from our current situation I couldn’t fathom. “Now he will learn the whole truth.”

My stomach turned. What the hell was going on? Questions clawed at my throat, each one more dangerous than the last. Why was the enemy so invested in him knowing the truth? How did they know Domino knew what had happened to his mother? No one knew except…

A sharp, heated discussion broke out. Italian curses flew like daggers. Words landed like stray bullets, echoing off the warehouse walls. The circle of men behind them shifted, uneasy, shoulders squared—but there was something in their eyes. Dread. None of them wanted to step in. None of them wanted to be caught in the firestorm building in the center of the room.

A slow inhale pulled my attention like a magnetic force. A shift in the air.

Domino.

I turned my head just in time to see his fingers twitch, his muscles tightening as consciousness pulled him back. His breathing changed—slower, deeper.

The monster was waking up.

Luca noticed. His head tilted slightly, silver eyes gleaming. He murmured, “About time.”

Ellio leaned back on his heels, smirking. “You’re gonna wanna hear this, big guy.”

Domino’s lashes lifted. His gaze found mine first. Pupils expanded, black swallowing the dark green of his irises. His entire body went still. Possession. I felt it wash over me like a baptism of hellfire.

It was in his eyes, in the way his fingers curled into fists around the chains, in the way his chest expanded as his rage grew.

Once he’d assessed me and deemed it acceptable, he turned his head. Took in his surroundings. Catalogued everything. Every minute detail. He never missed a thing, and today was no different.

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