“You were right about one thing.”
“And what’s that?”
“I’m a fucking arrogant prick who is always right.”
Immediately, a gunshot echoes through the night, hitting Enzo and splattering blood all over my face.He lets out a groan as he falls to the ground.I let out a shriek and run for cover behind a tree.A man walks out of the shelter of the trees.The same man Adriano had shot the first night we met.He looked really ...alive.He gestures to me to come toward him, which I do.
“You really thought you had me fooled?I was one step ahead of you the whole time.I knew you were watching my every step.I had to make Leonardo’s death believable and send him into hiding.I knew that sooner or later, the real culprits would slip up,” Adriano continues.
Simeone’s eyes bulge in confusion.
“It’s over, Simeone.”
“You fucking prick!”Simeone reaches for his gun, but Adriano’s fist is faster, landing a well-placed punch on his cheek.Simeone’s gun flies away from his grip down the cliff.
“You know what’s going to happen now?I’m going to beat the crap out of you for daring to lay your hands on her!”Adriano barks, raising his fists and getting into a fighting stance.
Simeone lunges for Adriano, who effortlessly sidesteps him.Adriano ducks the next flurries of punches thrown at him and lands another punch square on Simeone’s jaw.Simeone stumbles backward, rubbing his chin.It isn’t much of a fight.It’s a beatdown, as Adriano is clearly the stronger, faster, and more experienced fighter.Adriano closes the space between them, giving him an uppercut, followed by a punch to his gut.Simeone staggers to the edge of the cliff but manages to regain his balance.
“I told you I was going to kill you for touching the woman I love,” Adriano says, delivering the final kick that sends Simeone flying down the cliff to his death.His scream echoes through the night until it dies off.As loud as Simeone’s scream was, the only thing that echoes in my mind is Adriano’s last words.He called me the woman he loves.How my heart goes from racing with fear to racing with excitement is beyond me.
I finally release the breath I don’t know has been trapped in my chest all this time, and run to give Adriano a tight hug.
“What took you so long?”I sob.“I thought I was actually going to die.”
“I thought you wanted to die?”
“Not anymore.I want to be yours, Master.”
He places a kiss on my forehead.“I’m sorry your master didn’t come early enough.”
“Well, I guess my master will have to make it up to me, won’t he?”
“I guess he’ll have to.”
“Also ...I’ve seen so many deaths tonight, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to recover.”
“I know just what you need.”
“You do?”
“Mm-hmm ...oh...I spoke with your mother.She called me your boyfriend.”
My face turns red as I let go of Adriano and head for the woods, even though I have no idea where I’m headed.“Okay, I need to go home—”
A gunshot shreds through the night, followed by two shots from Leonardo.The first shot didn’t come from him.It came from Enzo.I spin toward Adriano.He’s clutching his stomach with one hand, with blood seeping through it.It suddenly feels like my body is set on fire.“Adriano!”
He staggers backward as I run toward him.
“Live life...”he says, as he falls off the cliff.
