So many things could go through a man’s mind in the final seconds before he took a step he could never take back.But it was either him or me, and it sure as fuck wasn’t going to be me as I aimed at the back of his head.Still, I couldn’t bring myself to pull the trigger.
Until he reached for his ankle, working his hand under his pant leg.He had a holster there.
He’d made up my mind, so I squeezed the trigger.
The worst part was I barely felt anything.
The gun’s silencer meant his death went undetected.I wasted no time hiding the gun under my suit jacket, the way Grayson had instructed.It wouldn’t take long for him to get here.I needed his eyes in case there were any surprises.I couldn’t wait, though, taking the front steps silently, crossing the porch, approaching the doorway with caution.Was I ready for what I was going to find?Did it matter?
“Please!”Nova’s tearful sobs floated my way and made the world go red.She was alive, yes, but she was in pain, pleading.“Dad, please!Listen to me!”
“He knows what has to be done,” Nico barked.“I am not dying for you, you little bitch.Too fucking stupid to save your own life.”
“That’s enough,” Riccardo shouted.“She understands.”
Stepping into the doorway, I surveyed the scene.Nova, tied to a chair, candles on the floor providing the only light.Riccardo and Nico facing her with Nico holding a pistol dangerously close to her head.
“Maybe you could explain it to me,” I called out, making the men turn as Nova gasped.“Because I’m sort of lost.Remind me why you have to kill an innocent woman.”
Nico barked out to laugh while Riccardo only stared.“This is perfect!”Nico crowed with another laugh.“Two birds, one stone.There I was, wondering how I was going to get to you,” he admitted.He seemed genuinely joyful, the fucking psychopath.
“Vaughn, please!Get out of here,” Nova begged.Even now, she thought it was as simple as that.Was there any situation that could make her abandon her goodness?
I couldn’t take my eyes away from Nico, holding the gun on her but looking at me.He had officially gone off the deep end, his eyes wide and wild, a patch of sweat blooming on the front of his shirt.“Do you want me to do you first, or do you want her to watch you die?”he asked me.
“I have a better idea.”I reached into my waistband and withdrew the gun I’d concealed beneath my jacket, aiming at Riccardo.“How about I blow your boss away, and the mob has no use for you?Do you think you could get away before anyone could catch up to you?”I challenged, smiling into the face of Nova’s father while threatening his employee.
Nico snickered.“Go ahead,” he invited in a light, almost playful voice.A voice that took me by surprise, stealing my attention.
That was all it took for Riccardo to surprise me by withdrawing a gun of his own and firing.
Bright, white hot pain exploded up and down my arm while Nova shrieked wordlessly.I dropped my weapon, sending it clattering to the floor while I gripped my bicep.Like magic, a dark red stain bloomed on my light gray jacket.
Nico’s laugh was unhinged, high-pitched, while I dropped to one knee.
I had failed her.
No, I had failed her again.
“Vaughn!”Grayson barked in my ear.“Come in!What was that?”He was close enough to hear the shot—Riccardo’s gun wasn’t silenced.
“Shot,” I whispered through my teeth, my head lowered.“But okay.”Still, he needed to get his ass in here and fire a shot because I couldn’t.I never had a chance.
“Looks like I’m going to own your casino, after all,” Riccardo predicted with a laugh that made me grit my teeth in something other than pain.“In the end, I always get what I want.”
“Even at the expense of your daughter?And what about your wife?”I asked, finding my way to my feet, gratified by the way his mouth fell open.“Your daughter knows it was you.Tell him, Nova.”I invited Nova, who sat sobbing through all of this.
“Dad, please,” she begged.“I love you.Why are you doing this?”
“The question is, why does he not look surprised at the mention of your mom?”I asked her, still staring at him while blood began dripping from under my sleeve.The bullet must have gone through, but I was bleeding like a stuck pig.I couldn’t afford to lose consciousness.This had to end quickly.
“Daddy?”The pain in her voice was real, like a living, breathing thing.“Please, Daddy, tell me it’s not true.Tell me you didn’t have Mom killed.Please.”
“I mean, if she’s going to die soon, why not get it all out in the open now?”I suggested.
Where the fuck is Grayson?
He chose that moment to update me, his voice a rasp in my ear.“A few minutes,” he told me, keeping me tethered, levelheaded.I only had to stall until his guys were in place.
