Page 112 of Dreadful
My curiosity gets the better of me, and I swivel the computer’s mouse around. All the screens light up to reveal a neighborhood.Ourneighborhood, the North End. All of the surveillance videos are in motion except for one. I step closer and see it paused on a point from yesterday.
I’m in the shot, wearing my coat and the nun’s habit I designed. I chuckle and shake my head. He wasn’t lying when he said he caught me using the cameras in the neighborhood. I underestimated him when I set out on my mission.
“Well-played, Severino.”
I step back to take in the rest of the screens. Everyone in the neighborhood is going about their business, and I search the monitors until I find the one that shows Sweet Tallie’s.
The picture window has plywood boarded over it, and there’s crime scene tape out front. My heartache barrels back into my chest at full force.
Tony is gone from our lives forever, and Gio is in pain. I would’ve never left his side if he hadn’t insisted I finish my mission. Getting dismissed like that might hurt some people, but Gio and I are birds of a feather. Not only do we both need revenge right now, but we’re also solitary creatures. We like to process our emotions by ourselves or with the ones we love. He’s made it clear he wants to be alone right now in his grief, and thankfully I’ve found solace in Sev—
Wait…
My heart flutters, and without the man in question to look at, my gaze falls to the skulls in the corner as my mind stutters over one life-changing thought.
Am I in love?
It feels insane to even think, but when two people are drawn to each other the way Sever and I are, I can’t deny that I’m feelingsomething.
When I began this mission, I was totally at a loss of how to deal with “the boy.” It’s why I left literal breadcrumbs with his cousin to hopefully draw Sever closer. I always thought I’d come up with a plan eventually, and planting the seeds would come to fruition, but then Sever walked into the bakery unexpectedly.
I was nervous as hell, but we touched, talked,laughed, and any plans I had went up in smoke. Falling in love was never on the agenda. Hell, I didn’t even expect to like him. Love was absolutely out of the question.
But now…
I set those thoughts aside and continue to watch the other monitors until I see Luciano’s Cuts. The anger I had over the fact that it no longer boasts “Bianchi’s Butcher Shop” is gone. Vincelli was thebastardowho killed my father, and Sever is going to help me do something about that.
A smile lifts my lips until I see a car park outside the barbershop. And it’s not just any car. It’s a black Rolls-Royce Ghost.A Vincelli car.
I watch, stunned, as Sever’s cousin, Orazio, gets out. My blood boils at the sight of him. The last time I saw Raze, he was nearly tackling his own cousin to the ground at Claudio’s order. Now I try to rein in my anger and watch as he opens the door for someone in the back seat. My eyes widen, and my blood runs cold as the man gets out.
“What the hell?”
Is Sever in danger?
I sprint out of the apartment, smash the elevator button, and step inside the metal gate without even registering that I’m still barefoot. There’s no way I’m stopping now to go look for my shoes, though, and I press the first-floor button at a staccato pace until the elevator shifts to life.
The machine looks every bit an antique, but it moves swiftly and silently down to the barbershop. I’m already poised to open the metal gate when a rough voice grates against my skin.
“Severino? I didn’t expect you to be here. Little casual even for this job, aren’t you?”
The judge.
The wooden door that separates the elevator from the barbershop conveniently has a one-way mirror that allows me to see inside the shop. I imagine Sever installed it to make sure he isn’t caught unaware when he leaves the elevator—that’s why I would install it anyway—and I’m thankful for it now. I can clearly see Sever wearing the same black zip-up sweatsuit that he laid out for me, using his cane with one hand, while the other holds open the door for Judge Blunt to walk right on through. I’m glad I didn’t just barge in, but rage and confusion simmer in my veins where anticipation flowed just a few moments ago.
What the fuck is the judge doing here?
“Don’t worry about my outfit, Dickie. I can still cut and shave with the best of them.”
“Hmph. Orazio said he would be my barber and that the luxury cut includedprivacyas well. He made no mention of you. Now, where did he go…”
The judge glances out the door for his driver, but Sever turns the client chair around and pats the seat with the handle of his cane.
“He’ll be in shortly. He asked me to get you started. Have a seat, he won’t be too long.”
Is this a trap? And if it is a trap, who’s the hunter, who’s the prey, and who’s the bait? And which one amI?
As soon as I ask the question, my instincts push my fears away. Sev has proven time and again that he’s on my side. Whatever it is that he has planned—this “gift”—I need to trust him for once and not jump to conclusions. Especially since last time, I ended up suspended upside down. Granted, that wasn’t such a terrible outcome.
