Page 41 of The Villain's Beloved (The Villain's Duet 2)

“I don’t fucking know what you want!”

Julio bit his lip as he straightened, and his amused expression turned to stone. “I have spent years looking for you. I’m not wasting another fucking second.” He pulled a gun from his back and held it against Charlotte’s head. “Tell me where it is.”

“Jesus Christ.” Every muscle in my body was coiled tight, my insides wrapped in barbed wire as I stared at the glint of a gun held against Charlotte’s head.

She blinked and cringed, moaning. “Elijah.”

“I don’t know what you fucking want!” I screamed at Julio. “Tell me what you want!”

“Gianni’s diary, that’s what I want!” Spit erupted from his mouth. “I want his motherfucking diary.”

“Listen to me,” I pleaded like a desperate fucking idiot willing to give his last breath in order to save his wife. “Gianni didn’t have a diary.”

Julio shifted. “Everyone knows he kept a list.” He waved the gun around. “A fucking manifest of names.”

Stunned, my eyes widened. “That’s what you’ve been after all this time? His fucking pocket Bible?”

Julio’s eyes widened. “He kept the list of his victims’ names in his pocket Bible? How fucking ironic.”

“Why do you want it?”

Julio lifted a brow. “You know how we hate loose ends. Knowing that list is floating around is just too risky. I need it so I can fucking burn it.”

This was the opportunity I had waited for, finding something I could use to my advantage, turn this entire situation around so it played out in my favor.

I glared at him. “If you hurt her, you’ll never get your hands on that Bible.” I made sure my threat was laced with confidence and unbreakable determination. “If anything happens to her or me, I can guarantee you that the next person to see that fucking list carries a badge.”

“Don’t fuck with me, Elijah.”

“No!” I snapped. “Don’t you fuck with me. You underestimated me, you fucking son of a bitch, and that was your biggest mistake.”

Charlotte’s fearful gaze locked with mine, tears slipping down her cheeks. God, I could see her trembling. But I pushed my own fear back, determined to show Julio he no longer controlled this fucking situation. I did.

Julio glared in my direction, studying me, and I could practically hear the fucking wheels turn inside his head.

Sweat trickled down my back as I anxiously waited for Julio to make his move, which would determine what I would do next.

He rubbed his jaw with his thumb and forefinger, his pensive expression pissing me the fuck off. “You’re right. I did underestimate you. I had every fucking contractor search for you, but no one could find you after you escaped New York. Not even the infamous Musician—who cost me a fuckton of money, I might add. How did you do it? How did you manage to escape us all this time?”

A laugh ripped from my throat, mocking him. “Of course the Musician couldn’t find me.” I cleared my throat, smiling. “You stupid fuck.”

“I would advise you to watch your mouth since I’m the one with the gun here.”

“Heed my warning, Julio. If you hurt Charlotte in any way, you better be sure to kill me. Otherwise, I will come for you, and I will peel your motherfucking skin off inch by inch right before I cut out your tongue. I will kill you, Julio. But it will be a slow, agonizing death. I swear to God.”

Julio glowered at me, and for a brief second, I saw fear flash in his eyes. I’d seen that look enough times to recognize it. This fucker was weak, a piss-poor excuse of a man who pretended he had the balls to rule the world.

He wiped at his nose. “I promise you, Mariano, this will end with you taking your last breath.”

Gunshots went off around us just as someone burst through the old door, dust and pieces of broken wood exploding into a cloud of smoke. Mayhem erupted, my ears ringing from the fired shots that echoed through the confined space.

Men came storming in, and Julio raised his gun. That was the moment I prayed. I fucking prayed to a God I was sure didn’t exist until right now. I didn’t care if I made it out of this alive, as long as she did. As long as Charlotte was saved—that was all that mattered to me.

Another gunshot fired, and Julio fell to the ground, blood gushing from his chest. It would have been an exquisite sight, something to savor if it wasn’t for my instinct to get Charlotte far away from here—to make sure she was safe.

Charlotte screamed, the sound scraping against my spine. I wasn’t sure if I yelled or not, but the moment I felt the ties around my wrists get cut I launched from my chair. There was no other sound but Charlotte’s cries, the adrenaline in my veins demanding I protect her.

“It’s okay.” I grabbed her the moment one of the men loosened her wrists, and she slammed into me, sobbing against my chest, shuddering. “You’re okay. You’re safe.”

---