Page 74 of Murder & Mayhem

Dante lets out a long, disappointed sigh before moving closer. The man’s hands are tied to the arm of the chair, but that doesn’t stop him from fighting against his restraints as Dante clamps a hand over the top of his, flattening his palm against the wood.

“Please,” the man sobs, repeating the plea over and over. All of it falls on deaf ears as Dante shoves what looks like a nail into the tip of his index finger. The man shrieks, and even through the laptop speakers, it makes my eardrums hurt. Dante does the same to the other four fingers, until the man is a sweaty, trembling, muttering mess in the chair.

Reaching for the keyboard, Enzo pauses the recording and glances up at me. However, I’m still staring at the frozen image of the guy in the chair. “Who is he?” I ask, my voice coming out flat and detached.

“He worked for a rival family that’s been trying to take us down for years.”

“You asked who he was working with.”

“We suspect a small number of men have infiltrated our ranks.”

Finally tearing my eyes away from the screen, I lift my gaze to meet Dante’s. The second our eyes connect, I can feel him pushing at my barriers, probing as he tries to get a read on my thoughts. “What would happen if he or one of the others succeeded?”

“They won’t.” Dante’s voice rings with confidence.

“But what if they did?”

“They’d have to kill every single one of us in the top ranks, butifthey managed that, then they’d seize this part of the city and gain control over all our businesses and operations.”

“They wouldn’t stop there,” Enzo speaks up, and I turn my head to look at him. “With their manpower and ours, they’d have the means to take the whole city for themselves.”

My eyes widen, and my voice isn’t as strong as I’d like when I ask, “Why haven’t you taken the whole city? You have the means. Especially after The Feral Beasts left, you could easily have taken control.”

“We weren’t interested in it,” Dante says, shrugging. “We wouldn’t have gained anything from it. All we needed Black Creek for was the docks, and we have that. Better to let the Black Creek riffraff fight over the scraps left behind by The Feral Beasts.”

My lips purse, hating his blasé tone. I don’t exactly know if things would have been better if the Antonellis had stepped in—hell, they might have been worse—but the way Dante talks about the citizens of Black Creek, like we’re beneath him and his family.

As if sensing the anger bubbling inside me, Enzo tries to smooth over the situation. “He doesn't mean it like that, Sawyer.”

“No, of course not.” I spit out the words, sarcasm dripping from every one as I glare daggers at both of them. “How could you possibly know the existence you were condemning the people of Black Creek to. I’m sure you had no idea how all the fights and battles and outright wars that were started over territory would result in numerous innocent deaths. The deaths of people just trying to get by and live their lives. The deaths of people who couldn’t give two fucks about who owns what land.

“And the entire time, you just sat here, in your nice little kingdom dripping with money and power, and let us fight it out. I bet you had a nice laugh when you looked out your father’s penthouse window and thought about us little vagrants running around below, barely surviving.”

Fuming mad and seriously contemplating risking Dante’s wrath to punch him in the face, I stomp off before I can follow through with that idea. Thankfully neither of them stops me as I storm out of the room and up the stairs, needing some space.

Chapter 26

Even after taking a bath and calling Oliver, I can still feel the red-hot flames of anger licking at my insides. I’m not even sure why I got so riled up. What does any of it matter? Whether or not the Antonellis had taken an interest in Black Creek after The Feral Beasts left, wouldn’t have made a difference. To be picked apart by gangbangers, or in the iron-clad grip of a sociopath—how the fuck do either of those options have a good outcome for the everyday people of Black Creek?

I groan as I press the heel of my palms into my eyes. I’m too worked up to go to sleep, and without a suitable outlet for everything I’m experiencing, I feel like I’m going insane. I don’t think I can take much more of this.

“Uh, sorry. Am I interrupting?”

I jump upright, removing my hands from across my eyes as I turn to stare at Enzo. I hadn’t even heard him come in. He’s dressed all in black—black pants, black Henley, black boots—looking more reminiscent of a Reject than an Antonelli. It still doesn’t quite suit him, though. He’s too clean-looking.

“Erm, no.” I’m sitting on my bed in only a thin tank top and my panties, but I’m used to wearing a lot less in front of men, so I don’t bother to cover up. I just cross my legs so Enzo can sit down on the edge of the bed.

His eyes bore into mine for the longest time, yet I can’t seem to look away as he pushes his way past my barriers and into my inner psyche. Maybe I’m just sick of keeping him out. Every day I’ve been here, Enzo has been proving himself. With his thoughtful gestures and the open way with which he answers any of my probing questions. And if there’s ever something he can’t answer, he says as much. He’s upfront and honest, and so unlike the Enzo I’ve known for the last seven years. Even the way he quietly has my back when I argue with Dante—something that is starting to genuinely infuriate Dante.

“I wanted to apologize—”

I wave him off. “It’s fine.”

“It’s not,” he argues. “You shouldn’t have had to grow up or live the way you did. I don’t know if life would have been better or worse for you if Giovanni had taken an interest in the city and decided to claim it under the Antonelli name.” He reaches across the space between us and slides his hand into mine. “Either way, I wish your life could have been different.”

I duck my head as tears form in my eyes, and I swallow around a lump of emotion. He gives me a moment to get myself together before squeezing my hand. “I have something for you.”

I look up into his dazzling green eyes. Even in the dark, they seem to sparkle. “Oh, yeah?” A playful smile plays along one side of my lips. “What is it?”

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