I step out from behind the wreckage with my gun raised.
I kick his gun behind me and out of reach.
My hands tremble but I force myself to remain calm.
Bruno gets to his feet.
Blood runs down the side of his face where one of the crates caught him.
“You really think you can kill me, Cipi?” he spits. “After everything we’ve been through?”
“I don’t want to,” I admit. “But you left me no choice.”
He straightens and smiles. “You never kill the people you thought were family.”
I stare at him.
The man who’d once been like a second father.
The man I trusted with my life.
I hesitate and he takes advantage.
Lunging forward, he tackles me below my waist.
My shot goes wide as he slams me into the crate. The gun falls from my hands and slides across the floor.
Bruno slams me to the floor. My back hits the concrete. Pain shoots up my spine.
His hands pin me to the ground.
I twist, driving my knee into his stomach and shoving him off as I scramble to the gun.
“You should've given me the empire,” he snarls.
My fingers find the jagged edge of a broken crate. Without thinking, I grab it and slam it into his side.
He swears and his grip loosens. I karate chop him in the neck and he releases me.
I scramble to my feet and grab the gun.
Whirling around, I point the barrel at him.
“You really think you can kill me?” Bruno growls.
As I meet his gaze, the words he told me not so long ago resurface in my mind.
When you find the devil behind all of this. Make sure you kill him. No trial. No mercy. Promise me you’ll destroy him, even if it breaks your heart.
Before I can second guess myself, I pull the trigger.
The shot echoes like thunder in the factory.
Bruno staggers. Shock fills his face as he looks down at the scarlet stain spreading across his chest. His lips part, like he wants to say something, but only blood drips from his chin.
Then he collapses.
I stand for a moment with the gun still raised.
