Page 62 of Edge of Control

I rubbed my face. I wanted to come clean. To tell him everything. What would he do? Would he immediately turn me in? Would he wrestle me to the ground and call the cops on me? I couldn’t imagine any other outcome.

The panic began to grip my throat again, sinking lethal claws into my skin.

It couldn’t hurt me, sure, but I could hurt myself.

I could hurt them. Kill them both. But it was risky. And I didn’t know anything about Kyler. If I killed him, someone completely innocent, then what would that make me? It would break my code. Ruin the well-laid groundwork I’d been placing since this entire journey began.

I acted as if I was going to open my bag. I leaned over. Kyler was a few feet in front of me, Halden a couple more feet to my left. His bugged-out eyes were locked on me. Iunzipped my bag. “Fine, fine. I’ll show you what I’ve got.” I reached into it.

I yanked out the mace I kept in there. A backup form of self-defense. I shot a spray of it in Kyler’s direction. He was shocked, bending over in pain, rubbing at his face. Halden yelled. I ran forward and grabbed the lamp on his nightstand. I lifted it and brought it down on Kyler’s head with all my strength.

It cracked apart, porcelain flying everywhere. Kyler stumbled forward, fell onto his hands and knees.

Shit. He was still conscious. Halden cowered back into the corner. He was going for his phone.

I drove a knee directly into the side of Kyler’s head. The guy crumpled forward. I spun on my feet, picking up the backpack and smacking it across Halden’s face. His phone went flying out of his hand. He spat out blood. I opened my bag and pulled out my knife.

“You got lucky. Now, tell me who’s in charge of this. Who’s your boss. Tell me and I won’t kill you.”

“I… I can’t… Jesus fucking Christ. Just put the knife down.” Halden had his hands up high. He looked like a cornered rabbit, staring down the jaws of a salivating wolf.

“Give me a name. Who do you report to? Is it Gio? Who cuts your checks?”

“It isn’t Gio. It’s not. I know him, I do, but it’s not him. It’s someone named Valdoni, I think.”

“Full name. Now.” I moved forward, crossing the distance that separated us, pushing the knife’s edge against Halden’s chest.

“Leo Valdoni. Leo. That’s his firstname.”

“Leo.” That name struck a nerve. And Valdoni… that was… Leo Valdoni. That was—fuck. No. Impossible.

“How do you contact him?” I pushed the knife harder, cutting skin. Blood trickled down his bare chest.

“I get emails from him. And I’ve met with him once. He has a club. In Brooklyn. It’s called Marielle’s.”

My world rocked. He may as well have shot me point-blank in the face.

No. No, that was impossible.

It couldn’t be.

But… holy fuck. No, no,no, no, no.

Leo Valdoni.

Marielle.

My father.

My sister.

It was as if an invisible net yanked around my body. I felt it slice into me.

This was too much to process. Couldn’t cope. Couldn’t think. I balled my hand in a tight fist and smashed it into Halden’s face. He fell backward, nose broken, bleeding like a broken faucet. He folded to the floor. Unconscious, just like his roommate. Except Kyler was already beginning to stir.

I had to get out of there. I grabbed my bag, yanked on my shirt, and hurried out of there.

It was in the elevator that I realized three things all at once:

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