Page 35 of Mafia Queen

I watched. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Off the life that was draining from his dying body. My vision zeroed in on the wound, the blood. My hearing blocked out every sound except that of him gagging and choking, his body shutting down fast. I felt nothing. Absolutely nothing. The fear was gone. The terror disappeared. Even the anger had dissipated. There was nothing except…power.

“Doe! Jesus!”

It was only when I heard Antonio’s voice, feeling his strong arms wrap around my waist, pulling me away from the now dead corpse who lay face down on the ground, that reality started to seep back in.

“Doe, are you okay?” His hands touched everywhere—my hair, my face, my shoulders.

“I’m fine,” I answered softly, staring into the wild circles of his dark brown irises. “I’m fine, Antonio.”

“Jesus.” Lorik came storming in, Dante shortly on his heel. He looked at the body on the floor. “One of Mancuso’s guys?”

“Fuck me.” Dante pulled his hands through his hair, his gaze cutting from the dead body to the bloody blade I still held in my hand. “Antonio, what the fuck?”

Antonio snatched the blade from my hand, grabbed my arm, and dragged me across the bathroom. “Lorik, get them out of here, now!”

Dante shook his head. “This has Mancuso written all over it.”

“It’s him. It’s one of Vadik’s men.” Lorik pulled Karina and me toward the door, and I tried to speak, to be heard while glancing over my shoulder. “Antonio, it’s Vadik. He’s come for me.”

But we were out the door and rushed out of the club. There wasn’t time for me to say anything after that. There wasn’t time for me to ask why he wasn’t coming with us. Before I knew it, I was in the back of the SUV, tires screeching, Lorik swearing. It felt like the last few minutes passed with a big, black blur.

There was blood. And then lights. Yellow lights as Lorik sped through the streets of Boston. All while the same sentence repeated over and over inside my head.

I killed a man.

Chapter 13

Doe

Dr. Ramirez was already waiting for us when Lorik parked the car inside the garage. As soon as the door opened, I got out, and the doctor grabbed my wrist to check my pulse.

“I’m fine, Doctor.”

He ignored me and flashed a light into my eyes before placing a stethoscope against my chest.

“Doctor, I said I’m fine.” I looked at Karina, her eye already black and swollen. “Please. Take care of Karina first.”

He took my hands in his. “Is this your blood?”

“No.” I jerked my hands away. “It’s not. And I said I’m fine. Karina is the one who needs help.”

She held up her hand as Lorik placed his arm around her waist, supporting her. “Let the doctor do his job, Doe. I’m sure my brother gave him orders to tend to you first.”

The doctor tried to reach for my face, but I shoved his hand away. “I said I’m fucking fine.” My voice was laced with anger, my heart beating its way up my throat. “For the love of God, would you please take care of Karina? She’s the one who got hurt.”

The doctor stilled, uncertainty clouding the gold specks in his eyes as he peered from me to Lorik. Lorik nodded.

Dr. Ramirez glanced at me then picked up his medical bag. “Take Karina to your room.”

Lorik waved toward two security guards who had just secured the garage door. “Take Doe up to Antonio’s room, but make sure you sweep it first. Make sure the door is locked and you stay outside that motherfucking door, you hear me? I don’t care if you need to take a piss, you do not fucking move.”

They nodded, but when they tried to take me by the elbows, I jerked free. “Who is Mancuso?” I asked staring straight at Lorik. “You said what happened back at Vertigo had Mancuso written all over it. Who is he?”

He rubbed the back of his neck, looking in every direction except at me. “Let’s just say he’s not a close friend of the family.”

“What does that mean?”

“Look, you can ask Antonio when he gets back.”

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