Page 101 of Sin & Secrets

“It’s why you hired the Cartel, right?” she continues. “So you wouldn’t have the blood of the don on your hands. So you could blame his death on someone else.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Lazzaro laughs, but we can all see the truth in his eyes.

Cas nods to his gun. “You kill him, and half the Guild will be on your tail for the rest of your life. Let me do it.”

Lazzaro wipes his face with his free hand.

“You can blame it on me, a scorned lover getting revenge for her dead father. Giving me the credit will go down a hell of a lot better for whoever you’re working for.”

“You wouldn’t do it,” Lazzaro says, more to convince himself than anyone else.

“I would do it for you, baby,” Cas whispers softly. “An apology. For everything that’s happened between us, for getting lured in by a monster. I should have known you were only trying to do what was best for our future together.”

It’s almost comical how quickly Lazzaro’s resolve seems to crumble.

“You want me too, right?” Her voice is as smooth as honey. “You let me do this, and I will do anything you want, go anywhere you want to go. I just want to honor my father.”

It’s almost as if time itself slows down as Lazzaro gestures her closer.

The barrel never leaves my forehead as she takes it from him.

“Cas,” I tremble again. “Don’t do this.”

She allows herself one steadying breath.

Never before have I been so terrified, terrified that one of us is about to die and that she will have to bear that burden for the rest of her life.

I’d rather kill myself than put that on her shoulders.

I glance around. My knife sticks out of the neck of a goon nearby. Cas’ reflexes aren’t as good as mine if I can just reach over and grab it…

“You are the worst thing that ever happened to me.”

BANG.

The sound rings in my ears as I watch Lazzaro stagger back in shock, blood oozing from his chest over his heart.

He gapes a couple of times as if trying to comprehend what’s happening. But as his lifeblood spills onto the floor, his body soon follows.

Claudio Lazzaro falls on his back, his vacant eyes staring open-mouthed at the ceiling as blood pools around him.

Cas killed him.

Cas shot him through the heart and killed him.

I’m panting hard when the ringing in my ears fades enough for me to hear again.

“Cas,” I whisper in disbelief.

There’s a clatter, the sound of her throwing the gun away.

I stand, whirling around to look at her. Her tiny frame holds the weight of what she’s just done, but her face remains unmoved.

“We’re even.”

Stunned, I watch as she reaches down the neckline of her dress and pulls out a stack of bills. She steps forward, pressing them into my chest. “This should cover the rest of the debt.”

I ignore the money and grab her hand instead. Hundred-dollar bills flutter to the ground, turning red as they land at our feet. “Please, let me explain. Let me take you back to the brownstone. I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”

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