Page 102 of The Temptation
I’m panting as I lean down and grab the knife that’s now lying beside him, tossing it out of his reach. I snatch up my phone next, which I dropped during the struggle and slip it into my pocket.
He’s moaning like a little bitch, but when I stand to full height, training the gun on him again, his terrified eyes lock with mine.
“Please help me,” he begs.
“See you in hell, motherfucker,” I say as I put a bullet right between his eyes.
My mother screams as she tries to scramble away on her hands and knees. I reach down, dragging her to her feet. I’ve never in my life manhandled this woman, but I’ve reached my limit. What she has done is inexcusable.
“They did this to you, didn’t they?” I snarl, jerking my chin towards the bruises on her face. “It wasn’t Devon at all, was it?”
She trembles, tears spilling down her cheeks. “I’m … I’m s-sorry,” she stammers.
“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”
She shakes her head again, weak and pitiful, so I shove her away. When I release her arm, she hits the ground with a dull thud.
“You’ve just signed your death warrant,” I growl. “And when Dante comes for you, I won’t lift a damn finger to stop him.”
I cast one last look at the wreck of a woman who gave birth to me. She’s broken, snivelling, useless … and I am done.
There are no more chances. No more excuses. She’s dead to me. Whatever part of her that was a mother is long gone, buried under the multitude of lies and betrayal.
I turn my back without a word, leaving her there on the cold ground, choking on her own tears, as I break into a run.
“Romeo,” she calls out, but I ignore her. Whatever happens to her from here on out is not my problem.
I’m sprinting blind through the park, my lungs are on fire, and my legs are barely keeping up. I’m desperate to get back to Lucia, hoping the two fuckers I just wiped out were the only ones here with my mother.
As I’m nearing the car park, I hear the sharp crack of glass exploding in the distance, and my heart lurches in my chest.
Lucia!
A blood-curdling scream tears through the night a moment later, freezing the breath in my lungs as a chill slices down my spine.
My mind’s a mess, scrambling to catch up, but my body’s still moving. My instincts are howling as I tear towards the sound. I don’t think. I don’t hesitate.
I just run.
I have to get to her.
I have to save her.
I hurdle the kopper log fence separating the car park from the park, my gun still clenched tight in my hand, but I’m too late.
Tyres shriek somewhere ahead, and my head snaps towards the sound. Red taillights blur into the darkness, vanishing around the bend, gone before I can even take a breath.
“Fuck,” I roar. “Fuck!”
My hand slips into the pocket of my sweats to retrievemy phone. I know this call will seal my fate, but none of that matters. All I care about is saving Lucia.
“This better be important,” Dante grumbles down the line as soon as he answers.
“They have her,” I say through the knot that’s now lodged in my throat. “They fucking have her.”
A long silence stretches. Then Dante’s voice drops. The following three words out of his mouth come cold and hard. “What? Who? Salvatori?”
I swallow hard, my fingers gripping the phone like a lifeline. “Yes.”
