Chapter 27
Gio
The darkness in me shatters as Grace plunges the knife into her father. I’m helpless as I watch her struggle with the fear and anger and raw vulnerability shining in her eyes. Never has death seemed so real to me. And I can’t do a damn thing but watch.
I struggle against the zip ties digging and cutting into the flesh of my wrists, the blood dripping down my hand from the wounds.
Fuck! I need to help her. I can’t sit and watch. But I’m useless.
“You bastard!” she screams. She plunges it into his body again and again, the blade slicing through his skin.
“You bitch,” he groans, finally falling against the wall as the blood spills from his neck. His hands try to stop the flow, but she’s done enough damage. He’s done for. He tries to fight, but he’s losing so much blood too quickly.
I watch, totally helpless, unable to do a thing. I wish I could stand up and take the knife from her and finish the job myself. She doesn’t need blood on her hands.
But part of me is grateful she’s finally doing this.
That she’s the one to put an end to her pain.
She’s so fucking strong. I’ve seen this fight in her, and now she’s using it.
But it hurts me that she had to. I hate that it came to this.
She’s wanted freedom her whole life, and now she’s getting it.
Killing the man that locked her up and abused her for so long was one surefire way to exorcise him from her mind.
He can never hurt her again, not after she stabbed him to death.
Toni stands by the door, arms outstretched. “Back off,” he growls at the men that try to get past him and go to Martino’s aid, even though the looks in their eyes reveal the shock, and in some of them the pride of seeing her take down her father.
Alec ignores Toni, grabbing a club that’s stained with my blood from the ground.
I push forward off the ground, desperate to save her from the blow, screaming and fighting again.
My head smashes against the concrete, the chair landing hard in front of Grace.
It’s not enough, but it’s all I can do. I prepare for the blow of the club to smash against my skull.
Instead a loud bang ricochets off the wall. Bang! And then another bang!
My heart stills in my chest, fear crippling me. Not Grace. Please God, no.
I open my eyes and watch as Alec falls to the ground, knees first and then his upper body collapsing. His eyes are open and lifeless, a small hole in his neck bubbling blood. I watch as the blood seeps around his neck and soaks into his shirt.
“Let the girl finish this,” Toni says from behind me, and I turn slightly to watch.
Grace breaks down into wordless sobs as she looks to her uncle, ignoring the cursing her father barely manages to mutter, and shoves the knife into her father’s throat. With a final gurgle he’s silenced forever, the blood seeping all over the concrete floor.
The blood runs down the concrete and slides into the drain underneath my chair. The Rossi Don is dead, and Grace is drenched in his blood.
Toni stares at Grace. He doesn’t bother glancing at me, and I don’t blame him. As far as he’s concerned, I’m nothing. Toni probably never imagined Grace would have the balls to do this, but now it’s done. It’s something he should have done a long time ago.
And he’s the leader of the Rossi family. By rights, he’s the Don now.
Toni steps toward Grace. “Honey,” he says softly, reaching his hand out to her. “Give me the knife.” The men by the door stand and wait for their next command.
She stares up at him with tears in her eyes. “What?” she says after a long moment as if she didn’t hear him.
“The knife, Grace. Give it to me.”
“Give it to him,” I say to her. She can’t fight him, too. She can’t fight the entire familia. He won’t hurt her. None of them will. He better let her go.
She glances at me, taking in a ragged breath, then nods to herself. She hands the knife over to Toni. She needs to be held. I struggle once more, useless and feeling defeated. She needs me.
He takes it, then hands it off to one of his thugs.
People gather at the entrance to the room, staring in at the dead body of the Don slowly bleeding on the ground.
There’s so much blood, and I’m betting that everyone is surprised at how much he’s bleeding.
I’ve seen it plenty of times before. The body holds a lot of blood, and it’s always a shock to see it all spread out on the floor.
“That’s a good girl,” Toni says to her. He slowly helps her to her feet.
I stare at them, not sure how I feel about this.
He’s being sweet to her, but I can see the shrewdness behind his eyes.
He’s already calculating what he can do with her and how he can use her for his own benefit.
She needs to get away from all of them. They only see her as a pawn, and she’s so much more than that. She deserves so much more.
“Let her go,” I say to him.
His eyes flash to mine.
“I’ll give you whatever you want.”
He sneers at me. “What could you possibly have that I’d want?”
“I have names of contacts, the locations of warehouses.” I know saying these things makes me a rat, but I’ll give him anything and everything to let her go.
“I know arrangements that are being made this very minute. But you know you’re not upset Grace just killed your brother.
You’re the Don now. You got what you wanted. ”
He watches me for a second, his eyes narrowing, then looks at Grace. “What do you think, Gracie dear? Do you want to leave?”
“Yes,” she says in a small voice. I can tell that she’s still processing what just happened, and I can’t blame her. This is the first time she’s taken another person’s life. She’s in shock.
He pulls her toward him and rubs her back.
It’s comforting and without any eyes on his face but my own, I can see the hurt behind his.
He may be a sick fuck, a killer and someone who’s willing to sacrifice her if need be, but somewhere deep down he must care for her.
“Okay then.” Toni looks at me. “I have an offer for you. Are you ready?”
“I’m ready,” I say.
“Why do the Romanos want war?” Grace turns in his embrace, her eyes on me.
I stare at him for a second, surprised at the question. I assumed that the answer was obvious, but the truth hits me in a sudden realization.
The Rossis have no clue why the Romanos are coming at them. Maybe they have guesses, but the Romanos haven’t actually contacted them. As far as they can tell, it’s just a random attack without any provocation.
“It’s over territory,” I answer him. “You made a deal with the Zhang Syndicate that the Romanos used to do business with. They cut the Romanos off, and they’re pissed.”
“How the fuck is their decision my problem?” He releases Grace and she backs away, but her eyes fall to her father and then to me.
“We could have negotiated,” he says with a hard voice, his jaw tensing.
“It’s easier to negotiate with a dead man,” I point out.
He shakes his head, clearly considering what I’ve said.
“Let him go,” Grace says, breaking the silence.
My princess. I look at her proudly.
Toni laughs. “He really fucked you up, didn’t he?”
I glare at the asshole. Anger rolls through me, but I need to play my cards right. I keep myself under control. For now.
“Okay,” he says finally. “I think I have a deal for you.”
“What is it?” I ask, impatient.
“Take a message to the Romanos for me. If you do that, I’ll let you live. If not, I’ll have my whole familia hunt you down. Understand?”
“What message?”
He grins. “Just a little something. I’ll tell you how to find it soon. Do we have a deal?”
I stare at him, and I know I should turn this down. I shouldn’t accept without knowing exactly what this message is.
But then I look at Grace, and I have to accept. She can’t be given back to these people, these fucking animals. She’s mine and I’ll do anything in my power to keep her and keep her safe.
“I accept,” I say.
“Wonderful.” Toni grins huge, then gestures at me. The thug with the knife walks in and cuts away my ropes and the zip ties from around my wrists.
Slowly, I stand. My muscles groan in pain, but I don’t care how sore my body is.
Grace pushes off the wall and runs to me.
She throws her arms around my neck and I pull her close against me, holding her tight.
My eyes never leave her uncle though, or any of the other men.
I don’t trust them. We need to leave while we can.
I can’t deny the relief of holding her in my arms though. I hurt from a million bruises and I can barely stand, but I’ve never felt better in my entire fucking life.
She pulls back and stands at my side, facing her uncle. “I’m leaving with Gio,” she announces with a firm voice.
He raises an eyebrow. “The fuck you are. You’re a Rossi.”
“I’m leaving,” she says. “My father is dead, and I’m free now.” The men shift uncomfortably, watching the two stare each other down. I move in front of her protectively. He has no reason to keep her, but he could if he wanted to.
Toni stares at her, then looks at me. “Is this what you want, too?” I can see the resolve in his expression. An immense pressure leaves my chest.
“She goes where I go,” I say simply.
He shakes his head, his expression mystified. “What a fucked up pair.”
I can’t help but grin. Maybe, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Toni sighs. “Fucking hell. Fine, girl, go with him. I don’t give a fuck. But remember, if he doesn’t live up to his promise, you’re both dead.” His expression turns to ice.
I take Grace's hand and we walk forward without another word. I’m limping more than I’d like, but that doesn't matter. I’m going to leave this place with Grace, and she’s going to know that she’s free.
We head past her uncle, past the thugs in the hall, and toward a door at the far end.
“This way,” she says, tugging at my hand
We walk down the hall together and push open the door.
As soon as I we get outside, I hold Grace tightly against my body, taking a moment, just a small moment to really hold her. I’m so proud of her. “You did good, princess,” I whisper into her ear.
“I killed him,” she says softly. I can hear the pain in her voice, but what’s more, I can hear the gratification.
“I’m proud of you.”
She pulls back and looks at me, raw vulnerability in her eyes. “Really?”
“Really.” I kiss her softly on the lips.