Page 55 of Memento Mori
“The inevitability of death,” Yolanda mumbled.
“Apparently, years ago our fathers decided to form a type of organization,” I said. “They tried to oversee the criminal underworld as one. Until a Camorra boss turned on all of them. And his death was sanctioned.”
“And you think this is connected to that?” Haruto asked.
“We know it is,” Aaliyah chimed in. “The dead man’s father has put a hit out on all of us. Then after we die, he will come after all of you. He’s already tried with Tony by going after his businesses.”
“We have eyes on the man behind it all,” I said. “He will be dead as soon as we touch back down in Italy.”
“And what about the Ghost?” Haruto asked.
“We’ve put a bounty on her head,” I said. “A very lucrative one. I suggest you gentlemen do the same because she doesn’t stop until she fulfills the contract even if the person who hired her is dead.”
The Ghost was exactly that—A Ghost. She wouldn’t be found easily. But if we all added a bounty to her head, it wouldn’t be long until she was dealt with.
Chapter Twenty-Two
WHY DID SHE MISS ME
Aaliyah
As soon as we made it up the stairs of the plane, I walked straight to the bedroom. I kicked off my heels, and as I laid back on the bed, I closed my eyes and pressed my hands over them, trying to soothe the burning sensation of weariness. I was so tired. Tired of killing, although I knew it had to be done. Just tired of fighting just to be with the person I loved.
It had been a whirlwind of events over the past few days, leaving me feeling exhausted. We had to eliminate Tony’s mother, her lover, and in a few hours, we would take care of the mastermind behind all this chaos. And not to mention we’d have to make sure Agent Grasso was taken care of as well, especially when he found out that his grandfather was dead. Then we had to tackle the most dangerous out of all of them—the Ghost. Because she wouldn’t give up until the contract was fulfilled. Everyone at themeeting knew that we were all living on borrowed time, and she needed to be dealt with as soon as possible.
Tony kneeled down before me, his hands cradling my foot as he planted a soft kiss on it before beginning to massage. I couldn’t help but groan as I felt the overwhelming sensation. The man could work wonders with his hands.
“Do you want something to eat?” he asked. “I can get the chef to prepare us something.”
I shook my head. “I’m not hungry right now,” I said even though I should eat. It’ll take a little over three hours to get to Italy and I was sure we wouldn’t have time to do anything other than plan on how to deal with Salvatore Grasso.
“Why do you think she missed me?” I asked. Tony’s movements stopped briefly at my question before he resumed my foot massage. “We know that I was the target that day.”
Since we found out the Ghost was the one who took the shots that killed Papa Rizzo and Laney, that question had been plaguing me. If it was any other person, I would have said it was a mistake that Laney was shot instead of me. However, the Ghost did not miss. It was one of the reasons she gained such notoriety and was one of the most sought out killers. Clean and efficient. Even the head of every major criminal organization, including Antonio, had used her services at some point. What happened at our wedding wasn’t clean or efficient.
So why did she miss me?
Antonio placed one foot on the ground, then delicately lifted the other one and pressed his lips against it. “I’m not sure, Aaliyah.” He sighed. “To tell you the truth, I haven’t even thought about it, because I’m just happy that she did miss.”
His rough fingertips grazed over my ankles before tracing a path back down to the heel of my foot.
“But she killed your father. She killed Laney.”
He lowered my foot to the ground and then settled himself on the bed next to me. He took hold of my hand, bringing it to his lips and planting a soft kiss on my knuckles.
“Do I miss them both?” he asked. “I do. Laney didn’t deserve to die. She was a wonderful woman. I think she would have been good for Alessandro, and he seemed to have loved her very much. And you know how I feel about my father. With all that said, I’m still glad it wasn’t you. I wouldn’t have survived if it was you who died instead of them.”
I rolled over, propped up on my elbow, and gazed at my husband. He had endured so much heartache these past few months.
With a tender touch, I brushed the strands of his hair aside, allowing his eyes to meet mine. “I’m sorry.”
I could tell he was puzzled as he looked at me, his brows furrowed in confusion. “What for?”
“I’m sorry that you’re having to deal with all this because of me.”
It was the truth. All we wanted was to be together. If I had just given him up, his parents would still be alive, and he wouldn’t have lost the most important person in his life. His father.
“I don’t regret anything, Aaliyah. My mother can burn in Hell. She deserved to die for betraying me and my father. And even though I do miss my father, his death had nothing to do with you. It was going to happen, eventually.”
