Page 145 of Madness & Mercy
When this is over, I’m going to ruin him in every way he secretly craves, and then some. But the thought of Silvio’s filthyfucking hands on him first, of Silvio pulling strings from the start, splinters my vision like a bullet through glass.
I came here to kill the bastard, but first I need answers. How did he reach Julian when I had him locked down under twenty-four-hour surveillance? Julian says Silvio fed him lies. That means there was contact. Buthow?
And who else has ever hurt Julian? I want faces. I want names. I want to burn them into memory before I wipe them from the earth without a fucking trace.
Julian Cross wears a hundred faces, but I see what’s beneath them all. And no matter which mask he puts on, there’s not a single version of him I wouldn’t take a bullet for.
Maybe I’m just a fucking idiot when it comes to Julian Cross. Maybe I always have been.
But this endstonight.
We move like shadows.
The warehouse’s walls groan in the night wind as Luca slips to the back entrance, crouches, and works the lock. After a few minutes, it clicks open, and we step into the darkness.
Up ahead, low voices murmur, too quiet to make out the words, but tense enough to prickle the back of my neck.
I press my spine to the wall before the corner, gun raised, listening. The voices sharpen, footsteps shifting.
Whoever’s talking doesn’t know we’re here.Yet.
Luca catches my eye. One nod from me and he moves, slipping behind a crate and scanning the path ahead. He gestures once, and I follow. We repeat, advancing in sync, until the voices reach us.
It’s the usual backroom murmur, business being done in the dark. But I’m not here for business. I’m here forhim.
I strain to pick out Silvio’s voice, the slick, smug rasp that’s been circling my head for years. But instead, another sound cuts through the static in my head.
My pulse spikes.
Julian.
It can’t be. I left him locked down under Enzo’s watch. No contact. No chance. Nofucking way. But that voice—smooth, sure, with that razor edge I know too well—it’s him.
I ease forward, peering through the shadows until I catch the outline of a him in the dim light.
Luca grabs my arm, a warning in his grip. I shake him off before I even think about it. Strategy’s out the window. I’m already stepping out into the open.
“What thefuckdo you think you’re doing?” My voice is low and sharp.
He turns.
For a beat, I forget how to breathe. The face I know better than my own is there, but the warmth is gone. His eyes are cold and vacant, but there’s a sinister grin on his face.
“Nico Vitale,” he says, as if tasting the words. “Just the man I wanted to see.”
Before I can move, the barrel of his gun is leveled between my eyes.
My mind is a storm.Did Silvio turn him? Threaten him? Pay him off?Julian shouldn’t be standing here pointing a gun at my head, but the evidence is black steel and steady hands.
“Julian,” I say carefully, lifting my arms, fury pounding in my veins. “Put the gun down. Let’s talk.”
He laughs. It’s colder than the look in his eyes.
“You’repathetic,Nico.”
Movement catches in my peripheral vision, men in the shadows raising their weapons. We’re surrounded.
“This was a setup?” My voice is tight. “You’ve been working with Silvio?”
