Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 24774 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 124(@200wpm)___ 99(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24774 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 124(@200wpm)___ 99(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
I’d forsaken my father’s pacifism long ago, but the prospect of turning into the same kind of monster who’d murdered him turned my blood cold.
I tipped my chin back and met Salerno squarely in the eye, knowing better than to show a moment of weakness. “And if I don’t?”
With the swiftness of a striking viper, he drew the gun that was holstered at his side. It trained directly on my heart, and I stopped breathing.
“Then you’ll die tonight instead.”
I swallowed hard, but I kept my shoulders straight. “I don’t know this man. Why should I kill him? He hasn’t wronged me.”
“This isn’t about right and wrong,” Salerno sneered. “This is about loyalty. This is about doing what you’re told. Only one of you is leaving this basement. You get to choose who is breathing when we’re finished here. It’s you or him. Camorrista or death. You want to be one of us, don’t you?”
“Yes.” My answer was immediate and vehement. I’d longed for this moment of acceptance. I just hadn’t realized what I’d have to do to earn it.
“Then prove it,” he snapped. “I’m getting bored, and I might just shoot you both if you keep asking stupid questions.”
He was still pointing the gun at my chest, but I knew better than to hesitate. I boldly strode toward him, closing the distance between us in smooth strides. I took even breaths and willed my hand not to shake as I lifted it to accept the weapon.
He offered me a savage grin and gave me the gun. My fingers felt numb, but I’d handled a weapon often enough that I could hold it by muscle memory.
I stepped in front of the bound man and pressed the barrel to his forehead, right between his eyes. I could at least make this quick for him.
Because there wasn’t a choice at all. This was about more than becoming camorrista; this was about survival. And I’d always done what was necessary to survive. Salerno would kill us both if I hesitated. I wasn’t willing to end up dead for the kind of foolish principles that’d ruled my father’s moral compass. There was no point in both of us dying here tonight.
“Wait.”
My heart leapt into my throat. For a moment, I thought I’d passed the test, and Salerno would let us both go.
Then he removed the man’s gag.
“Please don’t kill me. Please. I have a family. I have three children. They need me to put food on the table. Please, don’t do this.” The pleas left his bloody lips in a panicked stream. I had no way of knowing if they were true.
He could be lying.
Or his children might starve without him to provide for them.
I glanced at Salerno. For an insane moment, I considered turning the gun on him and shooting a bullet into his black heart.
But then I would be an enemy of the Camorra. Gian and Enzo would try to protect me, and we’d all be hunted down like dogs. We’d die in the squalor of Le Vele, and no one would mourn us.
I wouldn’t allow my friends to die because of me.
I looked directly into the bound man’s eyes. They were dark green, turned almost black by his dilated pupils. He continued to beg for his life, but his pleas were drowned by the ringing in my ears. I burned his face into my mind. Not because Salerno had commanded it, but because I owed the man that much. I would remember this until the day I died. I would remember him and carry the burden of his death forever. It was a twisted sort of tribute to him, and it was all I could offer.
It took the barest movement of my forefinger to squeeze the trigger. It shouldn’t be so easy to kill a man.
I should’ve used a knife. Having his blood on my hands might’ve made everything feel more real. I should feel his death in every way possible. Such a violent end should be visceral. And a man should have a chance to defend himself.
I’d shot him right between his eyes and ended his life in less than one of my own selfish heartbeats.
Salerno was laughing quietly. He clapped me on the back and took the gun from my numb fingers.
I followed him out of the basement, leaving the dank space as a man. The half-starved, desperate boy who’d descended these concrete stairs only minutes ago had died in the same instant I’d ended my victim’s life. I’d just attained everything I’d ever wanted, and my soul was screaming because of it.
“Massimo.” Evelyn’s soft voice soothed my wounded soul like a healing balm. “Massimo, wake up.”
I buried my face in her silken hair, breathing in her floral scent to ground myself in the present. I wasn’t that weak boy anymore. I’d killed plenty more men since that night I became a man. I’d lost count of how many had died by my hand.