“Take it, Jo,” Tirone said. “I know you want to. Do it. Have your revenge, little faerie. I can’t live in a world where you’re not mine anyway. Do it and save him. He’s the man you chose.”
“No, Jo, don’t listen,” Laius begged me. “Don’t let that piece of shit that doesn’t give a fuck about his own blood win again. Don’t let him put that on you one more time. It’ll eat you up. No matter what you do, it’ll eat you up. Don’t take the gun. He’s toying with you. Don’t believe a word he says. He’s not gonna let any of us live.”
The world spun as my body turned to ice. The hammering in my chest echoed in my temples, and my breaths were as sharp as razors.
If you don’t take the gun, he’ll kill the three of you. If you do as he asks, there’s a chance, even if slim, one of your men will live.
Kill Tirone. He fucking raped you. He put you through hell.
Tirone is just a boy. He’s starting his life. How can you live with his blood on your hands?
Save your husband. You put him in this shit. It’s the least you can do.
You put Tirone in this shit, too. You can’t just kill him. He’s been protecting you since the day he met you. He’s loved you more than anything. And he’s Laius’s son. Do you think your husband will forgive you if you kill his son?
“Give me the gun,” I whispered.
Declan put it my hand. “Atta, girl.”
“Jo, baby, please, don’t,” Laius sobbed.
“It’s okay, little faerie.” Tirone smiled at me. “I’m ready.”
My eyes misted as I held my husband’s gaze. “Forgive me.”
“No. Don’t pull that trigger.”
“I have to.”
“No, you don’t.”
“If you don’t shoot now, I’m giving the gun to the prodigal son,” Declan said.
“No! I’ll do it.” I wouldn’t let Tirone kill his father. Laius had to live. So did Tirone. They had to have a chance to be the family they should have been before I entered their lives.
“Jo, please. Just wait,” Laius said. “Remember what you told me you should have done before for your mother?”
I should have waited. For Michele.
“That’s the only thing you have to do now. Trust me, baby.”
I blinked, deducing what he was saying. Did he have a way to tell the Bellomos where we were? Were they coming after all?
“Feck this shite.” Declan rolled his eyes. “Give the boy a pistol. Let him end this bollocks.”
“I said I’d do it!” I held the gun with both hands. Waiting might bring the rescue that would save us from the mob, but it wouldn’t save the Lazzarinis from the pain of my existence in their lives. There was only one solution to all the problems I’d ever caused.
I nodded to myself, a strange peace washing over me when I made my decision. “No more waiting.”
My smile bounced between Tirone and Laius. “I’ve loved both of you. Now, it’s time for you to love each other.” I pointed the gun to my head.
“NOOOOOO!”
“JO!”
Finger on the trigger, slowly, I closed my eyes. As my life flashed before them, glimpses of Tirone and Laius finally breaking free from their captors and lunging at me passed by.There’s no saving me now, boys. It’s time you saved yourselves and each other.
Bang!
