Page 1 of Psycho

PROLOGUE

ANASTASIA

My life is a sick, twisted joke.

It wasn’t always this way.

Once upon a time, I was someone else. Daddy’s little girl, blissfully unaware life can change on a dime.

Bonetti.

The name itself is like poison on my tongue.

Everything begins and ends with them, the family that put the collision course of my life into motion. Without them, none of this would have happened.

They took everything from me, and now I’ll return the favor.

Revenge is sweet, and mine.

Luca Bonetti.

Lorenzo Bonetti.

Nico Bonetti.

Massimo Bonetti.

I trace over their names on my sheet of paper, and linger on the last one. Shoving away the pang in my chest, I tilt my head back, looking to the sky.

“I’m sorry it has taken so long. Things got complicated. I made you a promise, and I will see it through.”

The scent of fresh cut grass surrounds me, as I smile at the red roses in the flower holder attached to the gravestone. I lean forward, and inhale the smell of the bouquet, embracing the instant comfort it provides me. A memory of a better time, before the end of happiness. Pressing a kiss to two of my fingers, I place them against the headstone. My therapist once told me the stages of grief are different, depending on the person. Some people move through them quickly while others do not. I’m beginning to wonder if some people don’t move through them at all, because I’m stuck on that day. Whether I’m awake or asleep, it plays on repeat, like a song you can’t get out of your head. The visions flash in front of my eyes, and I’m taken back to that time, unwillingly, like I’m being escorted by the ghost of the past, as if I’m a character in some new fucked up version of aCharles Dickensnovel.

I’ve contemplated suicide more than once, but that would mean handing them my defeat. I will not give in. I will not let them win.

Gone is the girl they once knew.

From the ashes they left me in, I’ll emerge as a new woman. The weak can become strong. The victim becomes the villain. Rising from the wreckage of destruction, caused by evil men in my life, I am reborn.

CHAPTER ONE

ANASTASIA

Enemies can become friends, and friends can become enemies. When your so-called friend does something unforgivable, your enemy is born. The guilt is heavy as I collect evidence on the Bonetti brothers because, as a girl, Mama Bonetti was good to me. A second mother, maybe more of a mother than the woman that gave birth to me. I have to ignore the pit in my stomach, that only seems to grow, because I made a promise. One I will not break.

After attempting to get the most recent Bonetti woman, Raina, to turn my witness, and failing miserably, I know I’m going to have to get my hands dirty. I blow out an agitated breath, as I thumb through the contents of the folder with my evidence on the Bonetti brothers, or lack thereof. This is why I needed her. I don’t have shit. They’ve covered their tracks well. Raina Abruzzo was on board until she wasn’t.

She fell in love with one of my four targets, refusing to give me anything further. It would’ve been easy for her to get what I need, with her living inside Kage Bonetti’s home. Too easy.

By now, I’ve made my presence clear. I’ve tried to get one of their own to my side, and shown my face at Bones Bonetti’s house, but I’m confident he didn’t recognize me.

They have three warehouses that I’ve discovered, but I know there are more. I want to know where the weapons are. If we can get an indictment, it will lead the way to searching their various properties. Then a superseding indictment will follow, and we can use everything we find to nail their asses to the wall. Life in prison is not good enough for the Bonetti brothers. I’d prefer death sentences, but I’ll settle for seeing them behind bars, for the rest of their natural lives. The man I’d really like to see rot is dead, so his sons will have to do.

Theo comes into my office with an iced coffee in his hand, and a smile on his face.

He hands me the drink, and I smile my thanks, but it’s not sincere. Like all men, his kindness has ulterior motives. Call me jaded, but I did not get here on my own, I had a lot of help along the way.

“Dinner tonight?” He asks, his voice dripping with mock sweetness, as he nearly begs me with his gaze.

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