Chapter Thirty One, Good Girl
A satisfied grin took over my face as I plunged a knife into the chest of the nearest man.
His gurgled scream was drowned out by the symphony of violence around me.
Blood sprayed, warm and sticky, as I yanked the blade free and spun, already seeking my next target.
Gio’s dad had brought half an army, but they were slow, undisciplined—nothing like the calculated ruthlessness of Company-trained killers.
That meant I could let loose. Have a little fun with things.
Gunshots cracked through the air. My peripheral vision caught flashes of Silver and Danika moving through the carnage like twin storms—efficient, brutal, and untouchable. I could handle a good dozen men on my own, but with the three of us?
It was laughable. They were children trying to bait a pack of rabid wolves.
My focus shifted back to the immediate threat as a man lunged at me with a crowbar. I sidestepped, slamming my elbow into his face, shattering his nose.
He stumbled, and I finished him with a clean slice across the throat. Efficient. Calm. Just like I’d been taught.
Oh this was fun. I’d forgotten how much fun.
Perhaps I needed to find a reason to murder again. Or at least, train other people to murder. I’d enjoyed teaching Heaven some stuff, and when we got home I was going to teach her more.
I wanted to see her fight just like this.
The fight felt endless, each second stretching into an eternity. My muscles burned, and my breaths came hard and fast, but I couldn’t stop. Not until every last one of these bastards was dead. Not until I knew Heaven was safe.
As I thought of her again, I caught a glimpse of her blue hair disappearing into the kitchen, a thug hot on her heels.
Everything else faded.
The world sharpened, my senses narrowing to the singular purpose of getting to her.
I surged forward, slamming my shoulder into another gangster in my path, sending him sprawling.
My knife found the gut of another before I finally reached the kitchen doorway, just in time to see Heaven throwing a scalding drink at the man who had cornered her.
Pride swelled in my chest, almost enough to make me laugh as she raised my knife.
I crept up behind her, refusing to let her make herself sick. “Malyshka. Don’t get your pretty hands bloody for a thing like that.”
Her tension turned into relief as she recognized my voice, leaning back into my touch. “Atlas,” she breathed, as I gently took my knife back.
“You did so well. Exactly what I wanted you to do with something like this. And you look thoroughly delectable in my mask. It suits you.” I was so damn proud of her.
Not just for coming to my rescue, but for refusing to sit there and let a gangster piece of shit attack her.
No, she used what she had, and she’d beaten him.
I reckoned with another year of actual training I could turn her into a monster of the best kind.
“Close your eyes.” I ordered, not wanting her to see what I did to the fool attempting to climb up from the ground.
The one I quickly ended.
“I was about to murder him so badly,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “Did you see me? I was doing a Die Hard and rescuing you.”
After taking off her mask, I kissed her. Hard. Fast. Desperate to tell her how much I appreciated her without words.
“Thank you for the rescue.” I smiled when she opened her eyes. “Shall we rescue Gio too? I think he needs it.”
She nodded, taking a second to take off her excessive amount of gear so she could move freely and ‘breathe normally’.
Scooping her into my arms, I carried her out of the kitchen. Her grip on my neck was tight, but I could feel her relaxing against me, her trust in me like a steady heartbeat.
We entered the lounge just as Gio’s voice rang out. “Heather!”
He rushed over, his face smeared with blood, relief flooding his expression as he pulled her from my arms and into his own. His mouth found hers, and their kiss was full of urgency, a promise of safety in the middle of the storm.
It was so hideously sweet I was sad there were no cameras in the room to record the moment.
Then, a groan from the corner pulled our attention, and I looked up. Gio’s dad was sprawled on the floor, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his face a mask of fury.
Settling Heaven gently on the ground, Gio stepped forward, his jaw set, and his eyes blazing. “Stay here,” he muttered to Heaven, brushing her hair back as he moved past her.
Giorgio stirred, laughing low and wet. “Giovanni,” he rasped, his voice thick with venom. “Still playing house with your whores, I see. Which one is yours now? Or are you not fussy about what you taint our family line with?”
Gio kicked him hard in the ribs, sending him rolling across the floor. “Shut up.”
His dad coughed, laughing harder despite the obvious pain he was in. “What’s the plan, boy? Kill me? You don’t have the guts. You never did.”
Gio pulled his knife, aiming it at his father. “Watch me.”
“Go ahead,” Giorgio taunted, a bloody grin splitting his face.
“Kill me. See what happens when my brothers find out? They’re already on their way from Italy, you know.
Do you think they’ll let you play at being a king, Giovanni?
” He scoffed. “You and your whore will be dead before the week is out. They know where I am, and how you betrayed my family.”
The word ‘whore’ struck a nerve, and I stepped forward, but I didn’t intervene. I just watched as Giorgio slowly clambered to his feet, and I moved closer to Gio, in case he needed backup.
He spat blood, still smiling. “You’re pathetic. Always have been. No wonder people keep paying the cost for your disobedience. Like that little bitch from your club.”
The air seemed to freeze, the room falling deathly silent.
Gio’s hand trembled, his knife steady, but his fury barely contained. “Shut up,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Oh, yes,” his father continued, his tone mockingly sweet.
“Poor Melissa. Such a pretty little thing. It’s a shame she got caught up in all this.
But I guess mistakes happen, right? How was I supposed to know which pretty blonde tramp you were obsessed with?
” His grin got wider. “She lied to me, you know. I presume she was so desperate for money that she just leaped at the chance to pretend to be your woman. The stupid little bitch never used her brain to realize why I was interested in her.”
Before any of us could blink, Giorgio lunged toward the nearby coffee table, his hand snatching up a pistol that had been discarded in the chaos.
“Get down!” I shouted as he fired, and I shoved Gio out of the way. The shot cracked through the air like a whip, grazing Gio’s side but missing him for the most part. He stumbled but didn’t fall, clutching his ribs as blood seeped through his shirt.
“Son of a—” He growled, his voice tight with pain as he lashed out with his knife, narrowly missing his father.
I didn’t have time to check on him fully because Giorgio was already scrambling toward Heaven. His focus locked on nothing but her. My instincts kicked in, and I bolted after him. Refusing to let him lay a single hand on her.
But I wasn’t fast enough.
“Heather!” Gio roared, his voice sharp despite the pain as he desperately tried to move. To stop what we both could see coming as his father raised his gun once more, aiming it right at her head.
A gunshot rang out again, and my heart stopped.
My pulse beat like a drum. My feet came to a sudden stop.
Every single sound in the world silenced.
“Heaven…” I breathed, my voice catching in my throat as blood pooled over the ground, far too much for anyone to survive.
As I stared at the only reason I had to live, and felt my entire world shift in a single moment.
“I told you I was a hitwoman.” Heaven sniffled. Her gaze flicked to me, her face pale but her eyes fierce. “And I promised Missy I would kill him.” Her voice trembled as her gaze dropped to the ground, where Giorgio lay gasping for air.
Gio groaned as he stopped beside me. But as he looked at Heaven, his lips curled into a small, approving smirk. “Good girl,” he whispered. “You can put the gun down now.”
Heaven’s face crumpled for a moment as she dropped her tiny gun, and then she turned on her heel and bolted toward the kitchen sink.
“She’s going to have nightmares about all this blood,” I muttered, worry creeping into my tone as my heart stopped pounding.
“She’ll be fine. She’s strong.” Gio leaned heavily against me. His eyes fixed on Giorgio, who was writhing on the floor, with more blood pooling beneath him. Gio’s expression hardened, and I knew what was coming next.
“Give me the gun,” he said.
“What?”
“The gun,” he repeated, his tone sharp. He extended a hand, his fingers bloodstained but steady.
“If I bend down, I’m going to fall. So be a good boy and hand me a weapon.
” He looked at me. “I know we planned blackmail, but it’s too late for that.
And you were right. You should have murdered him the second we found out he was guilty.
” He swallowed hard. “My uncles could find out what happened here. They may one day know how Giorgio ended and… and I’d rather be responsible for this than Heather. ”
I hurried to grab Heaven’s gun from the ground. Gio took it without hesitation, his grip firm despite the pain in his side.
He limped toward his father, his steps slow. Giorgio tried to lift his head, his mouth opening as though he had something left to say, but Gio didn’t give him the chance.
The gunshot echoed through the room one last time.
For a moment, there was silence. Just the soft rustle of the wind through the trees outside, the faint murmur of the gangsters still waiting beyond the walls.
Gio turned to me, his face unreadable. “Let’s get our girl and go home.”
I stared right back, lips parted. “You get in the car.” I swallowed hard. “I need to do something first.