CHAPTER FIFTEEN
KAGE
After pulling a pair of sweatpants on, I hear her talking to herself as the water shuts off. It wasn’t intentional, but the door was left open, and her words stop me in my tracks.
At least now the pain can stop. No more visits from Leo. He will never touch me again.
I may have no choice but to end her life, but if her uncle has been abusing her, he will not only die, but painfully so.
Handing her a t-shirt when she comes out in a towel, she whispers her thanks.
“I’d like to say goodbye to my mother first.”
I grab my gun off the end table and glance at her.
“Follow me.”
Will she try to get away? There’s a chance, but she won’t get far. I nod to my security guy stationed outside her mother’s door.
“Go take ten. Give her some privacy.”
Adelina Abruzzo runs to her daughter, and hugs her tightly.
“I’m sorry,” Raina cries.
Her mother glares at me as I stand in the doorway, and whispers something in her ear. I can’t hear what the words are, and I don’t really try to, because it doesn’t matter.
“Lorenzo was kind enough to let me say goodbye, Mama.”
Kind enough?
Jesus, she’s got to be fucking with my head.
Her mother shakes her head.
“He’s not kind. Figlia , he’s no less of a monster than your father was.”
Aside from the fact that I would never do what he and his sons did to Bella, she isn’t wrong. There is little thought of doing the right thing in the mafia. We don’t have a moral compass. Choices are made based on what’s right for the family. Our family comes first, and everything else is secondary.
Honor.
Trust.
Loyalty.
Respect.
Family.
These are the things we live by. If anything, or anyone, jeopardizes our family, they die. Her family harmed ours, so they can’t continue to exist. This didn’t start with Reaper killing three of the Abruzzo men. That’s just what escalated it. Stealing our men years ago, when my father was in charge, was the very beginning. We still don’t know if they took them for information, or if there was another reason. It doesn’t matter, because very soon the remaining Abruzzos will be gone.
“It’s time, Raina,” I say, because I want to get this over with.
She kisses her mother on the cheek.
“Bye, Mama, I love you.”
The metal of the gun in the back of my pants presses against my skin. The coolness reminds me of what I’m going to do. Raina follows me to the bedroom and glances at the bed, covered in protective plastic. She’s quiet and brave. There’s not a tear on her face as she lies on the bed without being instructed.
This is my only chance to get the information I want from her.
“Has Leo been sexually abusing you?”
She closes her eyes and nods her confirmation.
“Since I was seven.”
“And these scars on your hip?”
“Self inflicted,” she whispers, “but he’s the reason.”
I swallow hard as I stare at her, shaking slightly on the bed.
“I’m going to make his death excruciating.”
She shrugs her shoulders slightly.
“It doesn’t matter to me, Lorenzo. I won’t be around to see it. Are you going to shoot me in the heart?”
I clear my throat and say, “In the head. It’ll be quick and mostly painless.”
Raina opens her eyes, and stares directly into mine, as I step closer to her and pull my gun from the back of my pants.
She opens her mouth to speak, but her trembling voice comes out soft and low.
“I’ll be the ghost that follows you through your life. You’ll never forgive yourself for this. You’ll wonder if I hate you for killing me, but it won’t matter, because you’ll hate yourself far more than I ever could. I don’t wish pain for you, but it’ll be there. And just when you think you’re moving past it, it’ll ignite all over again, like a fire that just won’t die. Nothing will extinguish it, because regret is a poison like cancer. It kills slowly, painfully. It eats away at you until there’s nothing left. I’ll be that for you.”
Her words hit me in my chest. My breaths come out heavy, like I’m running, even though I’m standing perfectly still. I know her words are the truth. I’ll never move past this moment. It’s going to be a never-ending loop in my brain.
Her vibrant green eyes staring into mine, like she can see straight to my soul.
The sound of her voice, begging me to not punish her for crimes she didn’t commit.
Memories of the brat I wanted to tame, but had to kill, will never let me go.
She’ll be the song I can’t get out of my head.
The book I can’t put down.
Some words stay ingrained in your brain. As much as you want to forget them, you never will. We pay a price for being one of the most powerful families in the world.
And this is mine.
A solitary tear rolls down her cheek as she breathes.
“I’m ready, Lorenzo. Do what you need to do.”
Gripping my gun in my hands, I point it to her head, holding it against her skin. She shivers, either from the fear, or the cool metal against her flesh, I’m not sure which. I stare into her eyes as much as I can, with the firearm obstructing my view. The last thing I want to do is look at the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, as I take her life away, but this is what she asked for. I can at least give her this.
“I’m sorry, beautiful Firecracker.”
Life is funny. And tragic. It gives and it takes away.
Taking a deep breath, the self loathing fills me as I place my finger on the trigger. The smooth metal feels like a sharp knife cutting into my flesh. I pull the trigger. And so begins my destruction.