Page 35 of Blood and Penance
Gianni squeezes my hand, his grip tight and reassuring, but as we pull up to the imposing wrought iron gates of my home, a cold dread washes over me, confirming my worst fears.
Blood and bodies are everywhere.
Absolute terror races through me.
“Giancarlo!” I scream as I struggle, trying to get out of the car but the doors are locked. “Fuck!”
“Wait, Phoenix!” Gianni shouts as I get the door unlocked and push it open.
I jump out of the car and race toward my home, but strong arms wrap around me, stopping me from racing through the open gates.
“Phoenix, you can’t go in there,” he says. “We haven’t checked to make sure it’s clear.”
“I don’t care!” I scream at the top of my lungs. “Let me go!”
I debated on what would be the best course of action when I decided to kill Lio when it came to what kind of home to purchase and where. I felt it best to do something extravagant because it would come with top-notch security measures without me having to renovate to fit my needs like the twelve-foot-tall iron gate that surrounded the entire property. I also chose upstate New York, where I thought it would be the last place Lio would look. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
I hired a private security company who were also ex-military to keep watch over the gated, secluded home, but by the bodies laying out front, none of it done any good.
It looks like a total war zone.
“Let me go!” I continue to scream, clawing and kicking. “My son! Giancarlo!”
“I’ve got her, Lorenzo,” Gianni says, wrapping me in his warm embrace when Lorenzo lets me go.
I bury my head into his chest, as gut-wrenching sobs wrack my entire body. “Oh God, he’s got him, Gianni.”
He sighs, but he doesn’t say anything. However, his body trembles with fury coiled beneath his skin as rage vibrates off him in waves of heat.
“We don’t know that yet, sweetheart.”
I know he’s trying to be reassuring but we both know the truth. There’s no way Lio D’Amico would do all this and not come for my son.
My question is how did he find us?
“My team is breaching the door now,” Lorenzo says, his voice somber. “They’ll send word when it’s safe to enter.”
I haven’t even noticed anyone else except for all the bodies of the security team I hired.
“We don’t have time!” I shout as I try to get out of Gianni’s arms. “Lio has him. Please, Gianni. Let me go.”
“We have to make sure it’s not a trap, Phoenix. Give Lorenzo a few minutes, then we’ll go in, I promise.”
I look into his eyes. I understand his words are logical, but the thought of my son being in the hands of that monster sends a fear I’ve never experienced throughout my entire body. I don’t put it past Lio to hurt Giancarlo just to get back at me.
“He won't hurt him, Phoenix,” Gianni continues. His voice is tight with anger even though he’s trying to reassure me, Giancarlo is okay. “He wants you. He’ll use him to get to you, and he can’t do that if he’s dead. You need to calm down.”
After a moment of silence, I let out a breath. He’s right. If Lio wanted to hurt Giancarlo, I hate to say it, he’ll want me to witness it firsthand. This isn’t about Giancarlo. It’s about me. He’ll want me to experience that pain and suffering in person.
Sick bastard.
I frantically nod as Lorenzo’s phone rings. He answers it, then listens to the voice on the other end.
“We’re headed in,” Lorenzo says. “Find him.”
Lorenzo cuts the call and looks at me and Gianni.
“He’s not in there.”
