Page 84 of Dreadful
I shouldn’t still want her. I should despise her for using me to get to Claudio. She’s just like everyone else in my world, stepping on people to reach their greedy goals.
But I don’t hate her. In fact, as she grins down at the brutal slaying she just committed, satisfaction wells within me. All I want to do is bend her over and fuck her against a gravestone as a congratulations.
My cock thickens behind my zipper, but I don’t dare so much as shift to ease the pressure. She hasn’t noticed me behind this Lazarus statue, and I plan to keep it that way. For now.
After this, there will be no more hiding or waiting for her to come to me. Once I have her alone again, all bets are off. I’ll punish a confession out of her, but it’ll be much more enjoyable than it was for the priest. At least for me anyway. Especially if I end up having to kill her after.
My stomach churns, so I focus back on the present as Tallie begins to roll the priest’s body toward the premade hole in the ground. It only takes a few turns before she squeezes him underneath the raised casket. The corpse falls into the grave, eager to start its descent into hell. She pushes off her knees to stand again. Once she’s up, she glances around before using her sleeve to press the button on the gravesite’s lowering device, hiding the evidence of her murder.
Clever, clever little viper.
If I’ve learned nothing else from this horror show, it’s that Talia Amoretti is a dangerous enemy to have. I don’t know what motivates her, but if she’d come to me, we might’ve even joined forces. Instead, she used me, and while we have a common foe, she destroyed the possibility of an alliance when she destroyed my trust.
I’ve seen enough, and I’m mentally mapping out my exit when the whir of the lowering device halts. When I peer around the monument hiding me, the casket is still above the ground, but Tallie has left its side. My brow furrows, and I huddle closer to the Lazarus statue as she walks over to another gravestone.
She kneels, closes her eyes, and touches the dead grass in front of the stone. Her whisper to the grave puffs a cloud of warmth into the winter air. Fuck, I’d go back in time and kill the priestforher, just to know what she’s saying. But before I can sneak closer, she rises and takes a flower from the wilted bouquet on top.
Its dried petals can’t possibly have any scent, but she still reverently lifts the dark flower to her nose and breathes it in. It’s a moment of grief that aches in my chest. Her face is soft and at peace as she carries her prize back. A little smile lifts her lips as she fits the flower into the crevice between the casket and the empty grave. There’s no sound as it falls, but I imagine its impact reverberates through her all the same.
She returns to the lowering device mechanism and presses the button to begin the casket’s descent again. This time, she stops it when it closes the gap.
Once again, fucking smart. She’s positioned it so that the grave diggers won’t see the body when they come back later tonight to finish the job. When she’s finished, she straightens her habit and winds through the cemetery to exit through a back gate.
The costume, the knife, the lack of hesitation…Father Lucas’s murder was decided well in advance. But what triggered it today of all days? Did Tony’s murder set things in motion? What does she plan to do next? If Claudio is one of her targets, I want to force her hand.
An idea forms in my mind, and a Cheshire smile grows across my face. I already know her show schedule by heart. She might intend to take time off to mourn hernonno, but if I dangle the prize in front of her, will it entice her out of the shadows again?
My mother has been messaging me off the hook, begging for my forgiveness after the disastrous dinner with Claudio and Judge Blunt. I could use her guilt to my advantage. Then I could use the neighborhood gossip mill to covertly spread the word about where Claudio and I will be. If all goes well, though, everything I’ve been working for will fall right into my lap.
Anticipation buzzes underneath my skin, but before I go back to my motorcycle, curiosity gets the best of me.
I have to lean so heavily on my cane that it sinks into the ground despite the freezing cold dirt. Once I get to the gravestone Tallie knelt before, I study every detail to find out why she was so interested in it.
Wilted Queen of Night tulips rest on top of the plain, upright granite headstone. A cherub sits in the center with a flower in its hand. Three names are etched in the stone: a mother, father, and daughter. But the hair on the back of my neck stands on end at one name in particular.
Chiara Bianchi.
She had the same first name as the girl who sacrificed herself for me and the same last name as the butcher who died to keep his family safe. According to the dates, this seven-year-old girl passed away with her parents fifteen years ago…somehow weeks before I met her.
I’m standing in front of the grave where my savior is buried, more shocked and confused than I’ve ever felt. Emotion knifes through me just as sharply as any dagger, and I have to use both hands on my cane handle to keep from falling to my knees. Even then, I can’t ignore the way my injured muscles tug at my stab wound. My body aches inside and out, but one question is more agonizing than all of it combined.
Why the fuck was Talia Amoretti at this grave?
I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.
Once I get my bearings again, I yank my phone from my pocket.
Got another cleanup. My vipera has been busy.
It looks like she had a clean kill, but I want another set of eyes on the scene for me to ensure she doesn’t get caught. Whatever punishment comes her way will come from me, not the authorities.
I don’t wait for him to respond before I’m dialing to make a call. She answers on the second ring.
“Hello? Severino?” The hope in her voice would’ve tricked me years ago. Not anymore. She’s used me countless times. It’s time I get payback.
“Mother,” I begin, buttering her up already by using the endearment. “I’d like to mend a few fences, but it’ll take your finesse to make it happen.”
“Of course, dear. Anything you need.”
