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“Hey…” He points his chained hands. “You did more to us than we did to you. Yeah, Marty fucked up your girl, but you got your revenge and I got mine. It’s done.” His panic grows. “You don’t want to do this. Killing me will get back to my little brother and you really don’t want that.”
“Giovani?” Dante recalls.
Enzo nods repeatedly. “Trust me. He already ain’t happy about what you did to Marty. You kill me, too? Let’s just say running to the ends of the earth won’t be far enough.”
Dante considers it for a moment. “Good.”
“You think I’m bad? Or my father? Gio’s a goddamn psychopath.”
I shrug. “Sounds like we’ll be doing the world a favor, then.”
Enzo turns away from us and pleads to Archer instead. “Hey—hey, come on! What happened to I don’t kill, eh? You capture, right?! Do something!”
Archer doesn’t blink. “For you, mate… I’ll make an exception.”
I raise my foot to Enzo’s chest. “Say goodbye, Enzo.”
“Wait, you fucking bitch—”
I kick hard and he falls backward off the dock. Dante bends over to pick up the cement block but he pauses to stare at Enzo as he flaps around in the water like a damn fish. Curses fly from his mouth, barely audible as he struggles to keep his head above water.
We look each other, neither of us showing a hint of hesitation at what we’re about to do, but there’s a tingle on the back of my neck I can’t ignore.
I feel Archer’s eyes on me, but I resist the urge to turn to him. He already knows who I am and what I do, but he’s never seen it like this. If I look at him now, there might be horror or disgust on his face. I don’t want him to see me that way, like the monster Enzo said I was.
Dante drops the block into the lake. It splashes water onto the dock as it shoots straight down into the muddy abyss.
Enzo lets out one last scream of agony before the chain goes taut and the weight pulls him down with it.
Bubbles rush to the surface from below. I watch every single one as they pop. Ripples spread outward to the far ends of the lake until the water finally stills again.
Lucy steps forward and takes Dante’s hand, entwining their fingers in a show of love and support. This isn’t the first Zappia we’ve killed to keep us safe and it may not be the last. There’s no doubt in the world that Lucy Vaughn won’t be standing beside us for the next one, too.
Archer Allen, however…
I force myself to turn around. He stands just over my shoulder, his handsome face blank and cold. Even his blue eyes, usually as bright as stars, seem a little darker.
“We should talk,” I say.
Archer says nothing. He follows me down the dock and through the tall grass all the way back to the house.
Chapter 26
Lilah
I push open the door to my old bedroom and Archer chuckles as we step inside.
“I can’t say I imagined you the type for pink wallpaper,” he says.
“My grandfather did that.” I close the door behind us. “Didn’t have the heart to tell him.”
He takes a quick walk around and pauses to look out the second-floor window. The sunset bleeds onto his face, highlighting those perfect eyes and that square jawline, and I melt inside. I look to the floor to try and make this easier, but my voice still cracks on the way out.
“Archer,” I swallow, “don’t think that you have to stay—”
“Lilah.” He smirks. “Are you breaking up with me?”
“I’m giving you a way out.”
