Chapter 15
CHANT
I sat in the dimly lit room, my fingers brushing over the cool metal of the gun in my lap. It was a fine piece, custom-made, sleek and deadly. It was almost poetic, how perfect it felt in my hands. Like it was meant to be used to end this.
Dante was coming. I knew he would be. He’d be a fool not to.
Word had spread fast—Cecil was dead, and the old woman was still in the hospital clinging to life. Dante had already lost too much. There was no way he’d let it slide. He’d come for me, thinking he could put an end to this, to me. But Dante didn’t know what he was walking into. He didn’t understand just how ready I was.
I’d waited long enough. That bastard thought he could swoop in, marry my woman, take what was mine, and walk away like nothing ever happened? Like I didn’t exist? The thought made my blood boil.
Genesis. That damn woman had done a number on me. I couldn’t even begin to count how many times I tried to convince myself to let it go, to move on. But I couldn’t. She was under my skin, wrapped around every dark thought I had. She owed me. For the hell she’d put me through, for walking out like she was better than me, for daring to live her best life without me.
I heard about the wedding. That bastard put a ring on her finger, claimed her like she was his to take. Dante didn’t know what was coming. He thought marrying her gave him power, made him the hero in her story. But all it did was put a target on his back, made him the last obstacle standing between me and what I wanted.
And I was ready to tear him down.
I’d been preparing for this moment ever since I found out they were together. Dante was a dead man walking, whether he knew it or not. He was living on borrowed time, and that time was running out.
Genesis thought she could start fresh, build something new. She thought that marrying Dante would protect her, that his name, his family, would keep her safe. But she was wrong. All she did was make herself more vulnerable, more visible.
Dante coming after me was a blessing. It meant I didn’t have to chase him down. I could end it here, now, and take back everything that was stolen from me.
I leaned back in my chair, the gun resting comfortably in my hand. I knew how this would play out. Dante would come at me with all the fury he could muster, blinded by grief and rage, thinking he could take me down. But I’d be waiting for him, calm, prepared. And when the moment was right, I’d put a bullet between his eyes.
I’d make Genesis watch. She needed to see what happened when you crossed a man like me. She needed to understand that there was no escaping me. That no matter how far she ran, no matter who she married, she belonged to me.
“Dante’s a fool,” I muttered to myself, feeling the familiar surge of anger rise in my chest. “A damn fool.”
I thought back to Cecil’s death, my guys left him bleeding out. I hadn’t even needed to pull the trigger myself. It had been too easy, really. But it wasn’t about Cecil. It was about sending a message to Dante, to Genesis. You don’t get to live your happy little life while I’m still breathing.
The old woman in the hospital was just an added bonus. I’d figured Dante would take it personally, maybe try to protect her. But it didn’t matter. I had something for him. The perfect weapon.
Dante thought he was coming to settle a score. But what he didn’t realize was, this was my game. I made the rules, and I was ready to end it. He didn’t stand a chance.
I grinned to myself, imagining the look on his face when I pulled the trigger.