Page 26 of Dark Desire

“They’re wrong.”

“I don’t understand.” I ran my hand through my hair, my heart beating against my chest like a pack of wild horses running across the fields.

“You do, Riley. I told you I was a monster.”

Sixteen

Vincenzo

“La Lama would never taint his reputation using a gun. It’s too impersonal.”

I watched as the realization dawned across her face. “What are you saying?” Riley stood and paced the floor.

“Can you tell me where your father was killed?”

“Outside his restaurant. I had the night off when it happened. The police report said he was the victim of a robbery, yet nothing was taken. He was one of two victims. The other dead body was the supposed robber. They said my father had stabbed him with a butcher knife just before the bullet took his life.”

“Michael Bodachi was no robber.”

The night floods back into my conscious, taking me back to the moment I walked away from being La Lama.

“La lama.” Michael sneered as he walked around me.

I spun the blade between my fingers, taunting him. “Bodachi. You knew this was coming. No one betrays the family and lives.”

“I see they’ve sent their prodigal son to end my life. I knew you’d come for me.” Michael pulled out his pistol and aimed it at my chest. “But I plan on taking you to Hell with me.”

Laughing, I stepped closer, ready to meet my maker. “You think I fear death? I crave the freedom it would give me.”

A noise to my right caused us both to glance at the interruption. We were secluded in an alleyway off the main road. A man stepped into the dim light, wielding a large cutting knife.

“Who the fuck is out here?” he demanded, unaware of the danger he was stepping into.

The shot echoed off the brick walls, causing me to lunge toward Bodachi. The stranger fell to the ground, his knife tumbling from his grip onto the pavement.

My blade sliced through Bodachi’s gut, severing his spine as it protruded through his back. His body crumpled to the ground, my blade slipping out of his flesh as he did. I turned toward the innocent man, praying I could do something.

“Hey.” I kneeled beside him, cradling his head in my hands. “Stay with me.” I slipped my phone out and dialed 911, praying they would arrive fast enough. He didn’t deserve his death—especially not in a dirty alleyway.

“Please…” he gurgled in his own blood, trying to speak. “My daughter.”

I looked around, wondering if she was going to burst out of the door and find us here.

“Is she inside?”

“No…”

“Hey stop talking. Save your energy.” The sirens sounded off in the distance, reminding me I couldn’t stay. “Look. I can’t be here when they get here.”

He reached up and gripped my hand. “You can still find the light.”

Riley pulled me from the memory. “Vincenzo?”

“Riley. I’m La Lama. I didn’t kill your dad, but I might as well have. I left him to die in that alley so the police wouldn’t find me.”

Her pained whisper punched me in the gut. “You’re La Lama.”

“When I told you you’d be giving yourself to the devil, I meant it.”

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