Page 113 of Brutal Devil
Maybe I need a break. To clear my head.
Pop-pop-pop.
A new sound reaches me.
A familiar one.
Gunshots.
My mouth goes dry and I freeze, halfway across the office. Panicked, I spin around, looking for a way to alert Priest or the authorities. But there’s nothing. I still don’t have a phone, and the internet is disabled. I’m alone here, other than the guards. And if the gunfire erupting in the hall is any indication, the guards are under attack.
I have to do something. Find a way to arm myself. Because if someone is out there killing my guards, that means they’re coming for me next.
My feet start flying before my brain is even aware I’m in motion, carrying me to the kitchen where I throw open drawers, frantically looking for something I can use against whoever iscoming for me. A knife block on the marble counter catches my eye. I lunge for it, pulling out knives until I find the biggest, sharpest one.
As I pull it from the knife block, the door to the penthouse bursts open.
My cousin Amedeo is standing there, covered in blood spatter, the barrel of his pistol pointed at me.
“Is that any way to greet your family?” he asks.
My grip tightens on the knife. There’s nothing I’ll be able to do with it. Not when he’s armed with a gun and at least three of his soldiers are standing behind him, the fallen bodies of my dead guards at their feet.
“Amedeo,” I manage. “What do you want?”
He gives me a smile that’s pure evil. “So good of you to ask. Put the knife down first. I wouldn’t want anyone to get hurt.”
I don’t want to put the knife down. It’s all I have.
I stare at him, wondering if I can run. If I can lock myself inside a room and wait him out until Priest gets back. But the instant I have these thoughts, I recognize how futile they are.
I’m a sitting duck.
“Drop the knife,” he repeats, a hard edge entering his voice. “Now, Luna.”
With a whimper, I do what he says, the knife clattering to the floor.
He and his men rush into the penthouse and surround me.
The last thought I have is that I’m going to die.
I feel a blinding pain in the back of my head, and then everything fades away.
Priest
“Everything is set,” Saint tells me, looking as grim as I feel.
I’ve been wanting to kill Amedeo the Animal Revello for years. And I finally have the excuse to do it. But it’s a hollow victory. Because to achieve it, I’m going to have to put Luna in danger.
“Triple-check everything,” I tell him, wishing I had a glass of Johnnie Walker right now.
I can’t risk it.
Not when shit’s about to go down.
“Already done,” he says.
“Fucking quadruple-check,” I bite out.
