Page 55 of Dreadful
“Fine, I’ll do it. Let me leave, and I should have an appointment to figure out how to transfer by tomorrow morning.”
Claudio smiles like a Cheshire cat. “See that it happens, Dickie.”
He glowers at my uncle as he holds his phone to his ear. “Richard, here. Yes, I know it’s late on a Sunday, but I have a request…”
He swings the door open on the opposite side of the room, and my mother comes through.
“Nice to have you, Judge. Come back soon, hmm?” Once she’s inside the dining room, she smiles at Claudio. “I saw to it that the girl went home. She understands the importance of—”
I lunge to get past her, but now all three of my cousins tear me away from making it to the door.
“Severino, what’s the meaning of—” She gasps and steps toward me with a theatrical hand over her heart. “Oh, my poor baby. Are you hurt?” Her eyes narrow at something behind me. “Is that blood on my rug?”
I don’t answer her. All I can focus on is the swinging door and my lost opportunity. It’s not until the front door slams that Claudio nods to my cousins.
“Take his gun, cane, and razor.” I try to throw punches, but my ankle bends awkwardly and I fall. He smirks at me while they riffle through my pockets and holster. “You can have your toys back if you behave.”
“Leave the premises,” Claudio orders. My cousins hesitate but step away slowly through the door behind them, not daring to turn their backs on me. I glare at all of them until they disappear.
When they’re gone, I stand, using the table for help, and slap the surface. “Che cazzo, Claudio?! What the fuck was all that about, huh?”
Claudio leans over and drags my mother’s chair to his side. He pats the seat, and she doesn’t hesitate to sit beside him.
Once she settles against him, he unholsters his gun and lays it on the table. His arm stretches over the back of her chair, and he taps the handle of the pistol with his other hand. Huge gold rings glint from his knuckles like a warning sign as he silently threatens us both.
“You’ll do as I say, Severino. I know you have some twisted loyalty to that dead girl, but having that judge in my pocket is good for the Family. As long as he is on my side, you will obey me. Leave him alone, understood?”
“No.” I step forward and realize my razor is still in my pocket. The wooden handle prods me through the fabric, urging me to use it on Claudio and end all of this.
I push off the table to attack, but the world tilts on its axis, and I have to slam my hand against the wooden surface to keep upright.Cazzo, my chest aches like I’ve been punched by a wrecking ball. I pull my jacket to the side to see my black shirt glistening in the light. My fingertips graze the cotton and come away with crimson stains.
Fuck. I guess it wasn’t the rage that made me dizzy after all.
“Blood loss getting to you,nipote?”
I blink and refocus on the door. Claudio laughs and tosses me a dinner napkin.
“Oh, Claudio, that’s a Frette linen—”
I catch it at the last second out of reflex, but the movement throws me off, and I grip the table’s edge again for balance.
“You’ll never make it to go find the judge tonight, Severino. And don’t even think you can take me on right now, or at any time, for that matter, without it being a suicide mission. So go ahead and kiss those revenge plots goodbye. Hell, from the looks of it, you might not even make it home.”
I press the cloth to my chest and bite back my groan. Shit, he might be right. I don’t know how I’ll ride my motorcycle in this condition. It’s got a modified twist grip handle and extended reach foot control that I rigged to accommodate my ankle. But I’ve never tried my mods while this injured before.
Claudio seems to read my mind, and he puts on an affected tone. “Damn, it seems I already sent all my men home except for the brownstone’s security. However, will you make it home wounded?” He shrugs. “Then again, maybe I’ve underestimated you, Severino. You made the journey once before as a child. I have faith you can do it again.”
“But Claudio…dear, maybe you should—”
“He’ll be fine, Trudy.” He smirks at me. “Besides, he’s going to have to toughen up if he’s going to come after me. Don’t think I’m not watching you, Severino. My driver gets into a freak accident. We had to fire both our butler and our maids. Then the gardener and the driver are murdered…those little things are starting to add up.”
A long-forgotten tune hums in my mind, but this time instead of the girl’s voice, it’s Tallie’s.
My mother brushes her fingers over the back of his hand. “Please, dear, don’t be rash. You know he wasn’t behind those—”
Claudio brushes her off as she apparently tries to stick up for me. It’s too fucking little, too goddamn late in my book, anyway.
“Guard!” One of his bodyguards appears out of the woodwork and grabs my arm. “Take him out. Follow him back to the North End. If he goes off course, shoot him.”
