Chapter 22
I knew every corner of the Orazio mansion.
The manicured hedges were so different from the half-dead garden I'd grown up with.
My boots crossed the polished marble foyer in silence.
This was where Ray rejected Adelaide at nineteen and blew up the truce between the Donato and Orazio families.
I can still remember the deadly hiss Anita Orazio made, and her promise to "poison the disrespect out of that little dipshit. "
Now, years later, the consequences had compounded.
Ray's papa had finally made his move, and Adelaide was in danger. I should be with her, but I was more useful scoping the house for Donato guards. Going from believing Ray was a traitor to this was giving me whiplash, but part of me was relieved Ray hadn't betrayed us.
Was I getting a soft spot for that spoiled bastard?
I snuck up behind a guard, scrolling on his phone, and wrenched his skull until his neck snapped. He folded to the floor, and I dragged him into the kitchen, taking his radio and stuffing him in the pantry. I'd counted half a dozen men when we walked in, and I was going to kill every single one.
I became a shadow on the wall, ducking behind an enormous potted plant when I heard the crackle of a radio. My heartbeat pulsed in my ear, but it didn't distract me. I sank into a place where emotions couldn't follow.
Another guard paced past the hall, and his shadow grew long.
His finger curled around the trigger of his weapon.
I slipped behind him, jabbed my hand into his kidney, and wrapped my forearm around his neck.
He kicked out, and I smothered his cry of alarm.
His gun clattered to the ground, and I swore.
What would Lara say if she could see me now?
The thought distracted me enough for the guard to throw his head back. It clipped the side of my skull, and white stars burst into my vision. I collapsed to my knees without letting go of him. The scuffle reverberated, and from the opposite end came a rumble of more boots.
"You couldn't die quietly?" I choked out the guard with a scowl.
Blood trickled down the side of my face and dripped onto the guard's desperate expression. It didn't take long for it to slacken. The others would be here soon, and I couldn't find them with my back exposed.
I swiped blood off my face, and it made me remember when my mom screamed from the corner of the room as my stepdad loomed over me.
His nose was still black from when I'd punched him the night before.
When I awoke to him in my room, touching himself to the sight of me.
There'd been a rush of adrenaline and relief, that the proof was finally here.
All the snide, hidden innuendo and hissed threats I'd lived in fear of.
My mom would finally, finally, see what a monster she'd married.
My forehead throbbed, and blood pooled in my collarbone. I'd been scrawnier when I was younger. But instead of siding with her only son, my mom had yelled at me. Her lips pursed and chin wobbling.
She'd told me to apologize. I left that day, choosing the streets over a house of terror.
Antoni Orazio gave me the opportunity to be a part of his family. I hadn't been raised in this life, but no other world existed for me. I'd kill anyone who threatened the family I'd been lucky enough to join.
Lara existed on the fringes of this dangerous path. What would she say if she saw me like this? Blood on my hands and face.
A killer.
I couldn't stop thinking about her.
I'd typed out a message to her in the van over here. Thinking of you. But it sat unsent. Beck had her safe, and even though I didn't trust him, I knew he would keep her from being hurt.
I pushed the emotion away.
I took out three more guards before I linked back up with Adelaide and her guys. There wasn't time to process Antoni Orazio dying or the countless bodies I took care of myself. The outside air made goosebumps spring on my arms.
Maybe I got cocky. When crawling out to retrieve a weapon, an arm wrapped around my neck, and the icy muzzle of a gun froze my veins.
"Come out, come out, darling." A dark-haired man called to Adelaide, knowing she was there.
Something about his sharp jaw made me think of Ray.
"Boss don't—" my throat tightened.
My skull throbbed as the man whacked his gun across my face. Each breath was hard-fought, with the man holding me tight.
What if I died here?
Without ever telling Lara how I really felt?