Page 127 of Cinder
“Sounds like a lot of theatrics. Why not just kill him and assume command? It happens all the time.”
“Because Luca Moretti is a psychopath, and it wasn’t just about gaining control. It was about executing revenge.”
“For what?”
“Angelo was going to name Ella as his successor. He still had many years left in him. But he wanted to bring her into the business. Make her ready, and that takes time. Years of mentorship and focus. Luca already felt abandoned by his father so when he found out their father chose her over himagain,he lost his mind. Abandoned any desire to impress his father. Instead, he let his psychopathy come out to play and decided to kill him.”
“And Ella was in his crosshairs because their father chose her over him,” I say, starting to see the full picture.
“She’d had him all her life, and Luca hated her for it.”
I grit my teeth so hard they almost shatter.
Luca made Ella’s life hell because his feelings were hurt.
Motherfucking pussy.
I want to kill him. Then I want to bring him back to life just so I can kill him all over again.
“And what did you do when this was happening?” I bite out.
“I died.”
He tells me how he escaped the car bomb that would’ve killed him if he hadn’t stepped out of the car after forgetting something. If he had stayed, the car would’ve erupted into flames before he could escape. That split-second decision saved his life.
“Then how do you know all of this when you’re supposed to be dead?” I demand.
“A select few of the syndicate are still loyal to Angelo. They’re old school. They’ll watch and wait for the inevitable to happen. Luca Moretti is too unpredictable and too arrogant to realize he’s built his rise to glory on a house of cards. One sand shift and it will all come crashing down.”
I’m that sand shift.
I’m going to make sure his world doesn’t just come crashing down.
I’m going to chop it up into a million tiny pieces.
Starting with him.
I think ofHellbringerback at the clubhouse and imagine bringing it down on his flesh.
“Why are you following her?” I demand.
“I promised her father that I’d always watch over her if anything should happen to him.” Remorse is heavy in histone. “I betrayed her father, and it’s something I can never forgive myself for. If I could at least watch out for her…”
“Does Ella know?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because they tried killing me once. It was a miracle I survived. Until I figure out a way to get her out of the clutches of her brother and Viktor Olicheckoff, I figured it was better to watch.”
“No, it wasn’t.” I can’t believe this guy. He knew what she was going through. Why she would keep her silence.Her silence from me.And he didn’t step in and at least let her know she wasn’t alone. “You could have come to the Knights. Told them everything.”
“The Moretti and the Knights have never held an alliance.”
“But we’re not enemies. You stay out of our way, and we stay out of yours.”
“For that reason, I didn’t know how the Knights would react to knowing who she was. Telling you would’ve put you in a position to take advantage of the situation. Maybe even hurt her?—”
