Page 131 of Ruthless Redemption

“What do we do?” she whispers.

I turn, guiding her behind me as I face the betrayers at my back. “You set us up.”

Salvatore remains mute.

“I’ve gotta hand it to you. This took some balls.” Smarts, too. They came at me crying for help, anticipating I’d go to Lorenzo in return. But their effortless ability to manipulate Bishop into leaving for Denver so I didn’t have backup was a tactic even I would’ve struggled to pull off.

“What are you talking about?” Remy stalks around me, taking in the backyard.

“Is everything all right?” Maria asks from the door.

“What’s the play?” I ask. “Is this where you plan to hand her over, because no matter what shit he spins out there, Lorenzo will always be on my side?”

“Jesus fucking Christ.” Remy’s eyes widen as he backtracks, grabbing Salvatore by the arm. “Emmanuel’s here. We need to leave.”

Salvo yanks free from his hold, storming forward to check for himself. “Fuck.” He rakes rough hands through his hair. “What do we do?”

He turns to me, his face full of fear, his eyes cold as ice. Is it a bluff? More sabotage?

“Come on.” Remy strides for the hall. “Move. We’ve gotta get out of here.”

“I don’t know what’s going on.” Layla’s hands cling to my waist. Her shuddered breath tortures my ears. “Did they know?”

I don’t know. The aggression coursing through my veins is turning everyone into an enemy. I’ll kill them all. Emmanuel, Adena, Salvo, Remy. I’ll kill Abri, too, if her phone call was part of the scheme. Fuck Lorenzo’s rules.

“Are you going to pretend you didn’t set this up?” I snarl.

“I told you that son of a bitch is always one step ahead.” Salvo’s face turns pale as he starts backtracking with his brother. “Healwaysfucking knows.”

“How? How would he fucking know anything if you covered your tracks like you said you did?”

“You tell me.” Remy raises his voice. “You think I’d dare to betray you after you fucking stabbed us both?”

I palm the knife in my pocket, the devil on my shoulder screaming for a repeat of history.

“Call the driver.” Layla tugs on my jacket. “We need to run.”

We can’t.

We’re safest under this roof. Under Lorenzo’s protection.

If we leave, we’re on our own to outrun any men Emmanuel might have circling the property.

“We didn’t do this.” Salvo holds my stare. “And we’re in just as much danger as you are now that we’ve shown our faces with you.”

“We’re fucked,” Remy seethes. “What do we do now?”

Maria clears her throat. “I’ll get Lorenzo.” She hustles from the open doorway as my brothers look to me for guidance.

Jesus Christ. Unless they’ve mastered flawless poker faces since we were kids, they didn’t fucking know.

“Why would he be here if they weren’t involved?” Layla whispers. “What would he want with Lorenzo?”

I dig the blade deeper into my thigh, the steel edge bringing temporary relief to the mindlessness. “He must know his days are numbered and the only thing keeping him safe from me is our uncle.”

“Will Lorenzo support him?” Salvo asks. “How the hell do we get out of this?”

“I need a gun.” I won’t have Emmanuel around Layla while I’m unarmed. I don’t care how easy it is to pull the trigger.

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