Page 121 of Merciless Monster

I know that voice! Is it Dante, or am I hearing things?

“Did Corelli’s gang put you up to this?”

“Fuck you, De Luca!”

The noise escalates. Franco is making a gutteral choking noise, like someone who can’t breathe. Suddenly, the fighting in the room has stopped. I notice the sound of someone looking for something. Pillows are scattered, the blankets and sheets are pulled away. Then an arm reaches under the bed and touches my foot. I scream.

“Mia!”

I keep screaming.

“Mia! It’s me. It’s Dante.”

What? Is this another trick of the mind? Like the reel of Angelo’s life I just watched? Is it real? Is Dante really here?

“Dante?” I say softly, hesitantly.

“Yes, my love. It’s me.”

“Can you get out? Are you stuck?”

My lover reaches under the bed again and pulls at me very gently until I;m all the way out from my hiding place.

It’s true. It’s Dante. The man I love. He’s here! He’s really here.

“Dante,” I cry and throw myself into his arms. “How did you find me? Where am I?”

“We’ll talk about it later. Let’s get you out of here.”

“Okay.”

“Are you hurt, my love?”

“No, I’m fine.”

This is when I see Franco’s perfectly still, lifeless body on the ground. He looks like a wax doll. His eyes are open in a panic filled stare and there’s a knife protruding from his chest. His throat has been cut too.

“Don’t look, Mia,” Dante says, steering me away, but I want to look upon the lifeless face of the man who nearly destroyed my world.

“I’m glad he’s dead,” I say, as I spit on him.

“You don’t mean that, Mia. This isn’t who you are.”

“Oh, yes I do. I would have killed him myself had I had the opportunity.”

The adrenaline is coursing through me. I suspect I may feel different in the light of day but right now, right here, I would have killed Franco myself if I had the chance.

“Come, my love, we have to go.”

Dante dials my father’s number from his cell phone and hands it to me while he drives.

“Dante? Is Mia okay? Did you find her? Is she safe?” my Dad fires off his questions in rapid successions.

“It’s me, Dad. I’m fine.”

“Oh, Mia! Thank God! I was so worried about you, my love,” he says in a shaky voice.

“Is Angelo okay, Dad?”

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