11. Dante
Dante
What the fuck does that mean? He already destroyed me. Yeah fucking right. I know that he thinks he has gotten under my skin, but he hasn’t.
Yeah, I think that him sacrificing and selling people is fucked up, but he doesn’t bother me. I will save the people that he has doomed to a life of Hell.
They don’t deserve it. Only fucking rats deserve death. That’s exactly what Damien is. A fucking rat.
My fists clench at my sides as I watch Damien approach the front door to exit. I have to fucking ask him.
“Wait,” I say. My words echo around us.
He pauses, slowly turning on his heel towards me. A smile brighter than the fucking sun greets me.
“To what do I owe this pleasure?”
I clench my jaw, nearly breaking my teeth.
“What do you mean?”
“It means—”
“No, you fucking idiot. What did you mean? You already destroyed me?”
He takes a few steps closer, coming within arms reach of me.
“I mean, I destroyed you… Years ago.”
He smiles, staring into my eyes without hesitation.
“What did you do?” I ask through gritted teeth.
He chuckles. Fucking bastard.
“WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO?” I scream.
“Destiny made me so much money,” he says, and I swing my fist, crashing it into the side of his face. His blood splatters on my floor as he stumbles backwards.
“Is that all you got? I sold your fucking sister, and that’s all you got?”
I storm at him, ready to fucking kill him with my bare hands, but I stop when I see the steel pointed directly at me. His gun looks at me, taunting me.
I pause, balling my fists at my sides.
“Just what I thought,” he says.
“So… Truce?” He asks. I spit on him. Fuck him.
“Get the fuck out of my house.”
“Well, if you change your mind… You know where to find me,” he says, winking on the last word. He turns to leave, and I let him. I fucking let him go. Because I can’t kill him if I’m dead first.
I have to call Lucien. He needs to talk me off this fucking ledge.
* * *
“Hey,” Lucien greets.
I’m silent. I don’t have the words I need to say right now. How the fuck did he take my sister? He was a kid. Early twenties. He wasn’t even corrupt yet, or so I thought.
“What’s going on?” Lucien asks again.
I sigh.
“He fucking took Destiny. He sold her.”
Th e words feel surreal coming out of my mouth. I still can’t fucking believe it.
Lucien is silent. Why isn’t he freaking out like I was?
“Lucien,” I warn.
“I’m sorry, D. I knew it would fucking destroy you.” His words have my world tilted on its axis. He fucking knew and didn’t tell me? Fucking prick.
“How the fuck could you do that to me? I am your best fucking friend. You know how fucking important my sister was. You just let her die. YOU JUST LET HER FUCKING DIE!” I am screaming.
He cannot be fucking serious right now. All I see is red.
I need to kill someone. That someone is Damien. Maybe Lucien too.
“It wasn’t like that, I fucking swear. I didn’t find out until six months before I killed him. Or tried to, at least.”
I pause, thinking about the logic. If he knew, why didn’t he have me help? He knows I would have fucking killed him. And I don’t fucking miss.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I told you. I didn’t want it to destroy you. Listen to yourself right now. She’s been gone for years, and you’re still on the verge of destroying the world for her.”
My throat tightens. I would do anything to see Destiny’s sweet, innocent smile again. She was my light before Evelyn. She filled my childhood with laughter and fun when all I knew was darkness.
Damien is a dead man.
“Why didn’t you have me help you kill him?”
“It’s my brother, Dante. I needed to be the one to right the wrongs.”
“Why did you actually shoot him then?”
He pauses. I hear him breathing through the phone. He’s fucking emotional right now, too.
“I did it for a lot of reasons. He killed innocent kids by giving them laced drugs. He was hanging out with people who were into sex trafficking. He was hanging with Miles for fucks sake. He sold Destiny. He even threatened to take Astra from me. I had to fucking do it. It was personal.”
I nod to myself, understanding his unique situation. Why does Damien have to be so fucked up?
“We have to get him while he’s down,” I say.
“We will. I know when he is at his weakest… he’s almost there.”
I smile. I know it. He never instigates. He always waits for the fire to come to him. He came here because he can’t control himself anymore. He is about to snap, and that’s what we need.
Then Damien will die. I’ll make sure I sever his head from his fucking body to make sure of it.
* * *
I crawl up into the bed with Evelyn. She makes everything better.
“Hey, you okay?” She asks.
I shake my head.
“No,” I choke on the word. I’m far from okay.
She wraps her hands around my body, embracing me tightly. What the fuck did I do to deserve this woman?
“I love you,” she whispers against my neck.
“I love you too,” I mumble.
I do. I love her with every atom in my body. No one can take that from me.
“Who do we have to kill?” She asks.
I smirk. My little princess is as feisty as ever these days.
“Who do you think?”
Sh e taps her chin, acting like she is thinking. She’s so fucking adorable.
“Hmm… Let me guess… Damien?”
I nod.
She’s got that fucking right. But she’s fucking crazy if she thinks I am letting her anywhere near that fucking psychopath.
He already took one thing from me. I’ll be damned if he takes anyone else.