Page 305 of Legacy
Not joking. Not exaggerating. Just stating a fact I’ve been too in love to see.
“Enzo,” I whisper, voice suddenly hoarse, “tell me why you believe that. No—tell me how youknow.”
His eyes meet mine. Flat. Heavy.
“If you tell him I said this,” he says quietly, “it’ll be my death sentence.”
I nod, not giving him a definite yes or no, but he answers anyway.
“You had four guards watching over you in Florida. Vinny. Carlo. Rocco. Gus. Two months before Don Amato met with your brother, Vinny made a trip back home. Told the Don he was done babysitting a whore.”
The word stings. But what comes next hurts more.
“I was standing outside the office when the shot went off. I cleaned it up.”
My lips part. But no words come.
“That’s... awful,” I finally say. “But you calling me by my name isn’t the same as what Vinny said. I mean, I get it wasn’t okay, but... I was thinking maybe I could talk to the other three.”
“Maybe, show them I support all of you. Show Angelo I want to be part of the family. Not above it.”
Enzo shakes his head slowly.
“You can’t talk to them.”
“Why not?”
He doesn’t flinch.
“They’re all dead.”
The room tilts.
“What?”
“Don Amato called each of them back, one by one. Asked the same question.‘How do you feel about guarding Scarlet?’”
My blood runs cold.
“Carlo said he was okay with it, but wanted more. Don Amato told him he hopes he finds it in the next life. Shot him between the eyes.”
I gasp.
“Rocco hesitated. Gus said he didn’t mind. The assignment didn’t matter. Don Amato didn’t like any of the answers.”
Tears sting the corners of my eyes, but I blink them back. My chest feels too tight to breathe.
“SantoisScythe,” Enzo finishes quietly. “That side of him only comes out when ithasto. When there’s no other choice.”
He pauses.
“But Don Amato?” His voice drops. “HeisSinner. All the time. There’s no switch to flip. No mask to take off.”
He meets my eyes.
“He doesn’t just kill when he has to. He kills when he thinks it’s right. When it fits the code. And with Sinner...”
Another breath.
