I’d filled him in on everything, the stack of letters pinched between his fingers when he pushed open the cell door, the metallic squeal echoing down the stone corridor.
Rocco perched on the edge of the narrow cot, his posture rigid. His eyes flicked between us, calculating—always calculating, weighing the worth of the secrets he held, how far he could push us, what it would take for him to slip out of this situation.
I stepped inside first.
And decided I was done playing games.
The air shifted around me, shadows I usually kepthidden curling faintly at the edges, enough to remind him I wasn’t just some Draconi grunt. I was Severin’s most dangerous soldier, and with good fucking reason.
“Your son is dead, by Dante’s hand,” I informed him quietly, and the cold-hearted bastard didn’t even blink at the news that his own son was dead.
“Bruno told us everything,andwe have your stash of letters. We know about Blackwood and Giovanni. We know it all, Rocco. Now what are you willing to give us in exchange for your measly life, because right now, neither of us has the slightest interest in letting you draw air for another moment.”
Rocco swallowed, looking between us, and I couldalmostread his mind.
He knew the chances of us killing him were low.
But not zero.
“And remember this. While we are two reasonable people who take things like strategy into account, you let your own son put his hands on Dante’s wife, and his mindset isn’t quite as… civilized as ours.” Behind me, Gabriel leaned against the doorway, silent, watchful.
Rocco’s gaze snapped back to me. “You don’t understand what Giovanni was planning.”
“We understand perfectly.” I stepped closer. “Like I said, we know everything, Rocco. All that remains is for you to decide what you’re willing to give us to save your own skin. Dante’s currently off on a little recon mission, but he’ll be back any minute. If I were you, I’d start talking because if we haven’t reached an arrangement by the time he returns, you’ll meet the same end as your son. Nothing left for the funeral pyre, I’m afraid.”
He flinched.
“You came here to stall us while Bruno torturedEmberline,” I continued, my voice calm in a way that felt far more dangerous than the rage had. “That will have a cost, even if you do manage to talk your way out of this.” My eyes dropped to his right hand, the one he used to hold his cane. “How deep is Blackwood in all of this?” I crouched in front of him so I could see his face.
“Deep,” he admitted. “Too deep to get him out, now that he knows what the Basin can do, how Giovanni is planning to use it.”
Thanking the gods I had the cursed thing hidden away where no one could possibly find it, I straightened up. “Tell us you didn’t swear a blood oath to the bastard, in exchange for his help?”
“I had to; he forced my hand. Told me he wouldn’t throw his support behind me without assurances. Giovanni was losing control. His niece fucked everything up, and even with the Basin, he couldn’t get Emilia’s support, which was critical. Blackwood became a necessary evil.”
Rocco straightened his cuffs. “You’re thinking too small,” he said, his eyes sharp despite the tension humming in the room. “Kill me, and you only get satisfaction for a moment. Spare me, and I’ll work for you.” His gaze flicked between us, no longer panicked when he saw me hesitate. “I’m Blackwood’s go-between. Let me live, and I’ll give you enough to stay one step ahead of them.”
He shifted his gaze to Gabriel. “Your father just died, and you’re next on Giovanni’s list. He has people in place to assassinate you at your father’s funeral service.” A faint smile tugged at his mouth, “You can take them out before the ceremony, and Giovanni will look even weaker to Blackwood.”
Then he leaned forward, that self-assured smirk on hisface, like he knew he had us in his pocket. “Spare me, and I’ll deliver Giovanni to you myself. As an offering.”
“You will back me as Don, and swear fealty to me and to the Dominico family, upon order of death?”
“I will.Ifyou spare my life.”
“That sounds like we have a deal, Rocco. There’s just one thing…” Gabriel stepped forward, and I pinned Rocco’s right arm down to the table.
“I told you if you betrayed us, I would take your head. I’ll settle for your hand.” His eyes swung wildly between us as Gabriel brought the cleaver down on his wrist, severing bone and sinew in one blow. Blood sprayed, and Rocco screamed, cursing us both.
“That’s for selling out Emberline. And a reminder of what happens to traitors.” Gabriel jerked his head toward the door. “Now get off my fucking island and don’t come back.”
58
EMBERLINE
Ipicked at the edge of the blanket, doubt gnawing away at me like the groaning silence of this place. I was perfectly safe.
I was in the bridal suite where this all began, the sumptuous room still smelling faintly of old rose petals. And my blood.
