Page 147 of Madness & Mercy
Luca hits me, dragging me down behind cover as rounds tear through the air.
“Luca—”
His breath catches in pain. “Told you… that bastard…”
“Don’t talk,” I snap, pressing my hands hard over the hot, slick wound.
More gunshots and shouts echo from every direction. Silvio’s men scramble, returning fire, chaos exploding around us. I’mpinned against the crate, heart hammering, struggling to make sense of the blur.
Suddenly, a figure drops down beside us, sliding low and fast.
Enzo.
“Goddamn, it’s a good thing we showed up when we did,” he hisses, his eyes scanning the chaos.
I raise a brow.“We?”
Before he can answer, Julian’s voice cuts through the noise.
“Cassian…”
I freeze.Cassian? Who the fuck is Cassian?
I look up, and what I see steals the breath from my lungs.
Another Julian—no,theJulian—stands there like a dark shadow I never saw coming.
Julian’s voice trembles as he steps forward, haunted.
“Cassian… what are you doing here?”
My stomach twists. Unless I’m seeing double, the man who almost killed me wasn’t Julian, butCassian.Which means…Julian Cross has a twin brother.
Cassian lets out a hollow laugh.
“You really don’t know, do you?”
Julian’s brow furrows. “What are you talking about?”
Cassian’s gaze sharpens. “Back when you fucked everything up—lost your job, landed in prison—some of your prison friends came looking for you. They foundmeinstead.”
He steps closer, eyes locked on Julian like a predator to prey.
“They put me in touch with Silvio Romano. Said if I took out Vitale before you did, the payday was mine. And after you burned through our family’s money, drained my savings, maxed out my fucking credit cards just to clean up your mess…well, Julian—” his mouth twists into a bitter smile—“this is me finally settling the score.”
My eyes flick to Luca and Enzo.
“What do we do?” Enzo whispers, panic barely restrained. “This is fucked. Luca’s bleeding out.”
I glance down. Luca’s losing blood fast, his skin pale beneath the grime.
“Go,” I murmur. “I’ve got this.”
Enzo shoots me a withering look. “Boss—”
“I said get the fuck out of here.”
Without another word, Enzo slings Luca over his shoulder and they duck into the chaos.
