Page 84 of Nocturnal Sins
“Santana, I’m telling you to rethink this. You’re being stupid,” Dom grumbled with his teeth bared.
“Yo, Santana, what the fuck is going on?” The first voice I heard was Marco’s and I was grateful. I could hear the other men behind him but his voice was all I cared about right then. I knew without a doubt that he was on our side.
“Marco, shoot him in the fucking head,” Dom instructed.
“What?” Marco almost laughed the word out. “Wait…is Pop…” I heard Marco’s voice crack a bit as the scene became clear but he pulled it together.
“I walked in on Santana finishing Chris off. His own fucking father. Now he’s trying to shut me up too.” Dom was trying everything in his power to get the heat off himself. Chatter broke out behind me and I knew it would take a while for the other guys to process everything but I wasn’t worried they’d believe Dom.
“You expect me to believe that Santana killed Pop?” Marco barked out a laugh and pulled his gun, aiming at Dom. He looked at me and then to the ground where Pop laid. “When you said you suspected someone in the business of stalking Sam…you were talking about Dom, weren’t you?” I glanced at Marco, not wanting to take my eyes fully off of Dom and gave him a nod.
“You know if something happens to Chris, I’m next in line. So, I’m not going to say this shit again, fill Santana full of holes.” Dom searched all the faces I knew were behind me and I didn’t hear one gun being drawn or aimed at me.
Confidence anchored me to my spot and gave me the power that I used to find my words and keep my eyes trained on Dom and not my dead father. “Walk your ass to the dungeon, Dom. You should already know you’re going to die for killing my father.” I tipped my chin up a bit and spoke to the rest of the men in the room. If Dom called every top soldier Pop had, that meant there were at least ten men behind me.
“Dom has been stalking Sammie. He knew Pop was coming here because he’s been watching the house. He tried to pin this on the east side guys and since that didn’t work, he’s trying to pin it on me. Fuck that.” I fired a shot at Dom’s bicep that made him howl in pain and drop his gun. “I’d never kill Pop. I loved him like he was my blood fucking father. Now, we’re all going to watch this cocksucker die slow since he thought it was smart to call everyone here.”
Crimson droplets fell from Dom’s fingertips as he clutched his arm. He pulled his lips back and let out a pained noise that didn’t sound human. It soothed the aching gash in my heart though.
Finally, after a few moments of dealing with the blinding pain of a slug burning through his arm, Dom got the message and headed toward the dungeon. Marco walked on my left while Sammie walked on my right the rest of the men filed in behind us.
The dungeon was a cold and barren place with no décor on the walls or floor and only a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling. It was the room where people got killed. Even the air smelled of death and fear. Pop told me he hadn’t used it in a year and that he only brought people in there when they needed to die slowly and learn a lesson.
Dom was going to learn a lesson and then he was going to die with that lesson seared into his mind. “Get on your knees,” I growled at him. “Your fucked up little plan is falling to pieces.” I dealt a swift and damaging kick to his mouth. Blood coated his lips and teeth. He spat some onto the cold concrete floor and glared at me.
“Bravo, kid.” He winced in pain and looked at me like he could kill me on the spot. I’d never give him the chance. “You’re not as stupid as your old man. Congrats. I was sure that getting Chris out of the way would leave this entire business wide open for me. I got Alina out of the way first and I thought that would do the trick but Chris never let me take over.”
My head spun and my mind reeled at his words. My gun clattered to the concrete as I fell to my knees and rammed my fist into Dom’s mouth over and over until I lost track of time.
“Santana!” I heard Sammie scream and felt her tug at my arm. My heart was racing. It was beating so fast I thought it would stutter out of my chest and fall to the floor. It couldn’t have possibly been any more broken and crushed.
“What…the fuck did you say?” I rasped, looking at Dom through tearful eyes. His head rolled against the ground, his face slick with blood.
“Come on, let’s get the fuck out of here. Let Santana and Sam have their moment,” Marco’s voice sounded a million miles away.
“You…killed my mother? She died in a car crash.” I wiped sweat from my brow and it mixed with Dom’s blood on my forehead.
“I think you knocked him out, Santana.” Sammie knelt beside me and held my head against her chest. Listening to the steady thump of her heart cracked me in a million pieces and I let out a cry that shook the stone walls.
I felt Samira’s warm tears dropping onto my face while she held me and rocked me back and forth like I was a little boy. It’s exactly what I felt like too. I felt small and vulnerable. I didn’t feel like a hulking maniac that just beat someone’s face into something that resembled oatmeal. I felt like a wounded child.
A child without parents.
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