Page 125 of Madness & Mercy
I blink.
Concrete is the first thing I see.
Fucking Vitale.
I groan and try to move. When I look down, my wrists are tied, head pounding, neck on fire. I’m wearing nothing but a shirt and boxers.Everythinghurts. Panic floods my bloodstream. I’m trapped in this psycho’s basement, right where that fucker was sitting. I look around, but there’s no sight of him, which can only mean two things:
He’s gone, and I’mnext.
“Nico!” I bark, yanking at the chains. “Let me thefuckout, you psychopath!”
Silence.
“I know you’re listening, you bastard! Come out and face me!”
The door creaks open slow as death. Nico steps into the frame, all shadow and menace, like he’s been waiting for this moment.
“Hello,cagnolino,” he says, his voice soft and sharp all at once.
“Fuck you,” I snap. “Let me out.”
He just clicks his tongue and shakes his head, like I’m some dumb animal that pissed on the carpet.
“Now, why would I do that?” he murmurs. “So you can run back to Silvio like a good littlerat?”
My stomach caves in.
“Nico, I—”
“No,”he snarls, cutting me off. “No more bullshit. No more lies. I want thetruth,Julian. Right here, right now. You’re the hitman, aren’t you?”
His voice is low and lethal. There’s something in his eyes I haven’t seen before—not just fury. Betrayal. Hurt. Somethingcolder.
And suddenly, I can’t breathe.
“I…”
My voice cracks, splinters in my throat. That one word hangs between us like a noose.
Nico steps closer, his shoes echoing against the concrete, each step dragging more fear into my chest. I can feel the temperature drop. Or maybe it’s just my blood going cold.
He crouches in front of me, head tilted, eyes locked on mine like I’m already a corpse he’s cataloguing. His voice is barely above a whisper.
“Say it,”he murmurs. “Tell me what I already fucking know.”
My jaw clenches. I look away.
Wrong move.
His hand shoots out and yanks my head back by the hair,hard.I gasp, biting back a grunt as pain flashes down my spine. He leans in close, lips ghosting against the shell of my ear, breath hot and laced with venom.
“You’ve been lying to me since day one,cagniolo. Playing me like some stupidfuckwhile reporting back to Silvio, yeah?”
I flinch, but I don’t answer. Ican’t.
Nico chuckles low and dark. There’s no humor in it—just fury.
“God,you’re good. I’ll give you that,” he whispers, tightening his grip. “The way you looked at me. The way you moaned for me. Youalmosthad me convinced you gave a damn.”
