All her hope faded away.
He devours power, so why did he just give it all away?
LUCIANO
Luciano smiled at Dante.“Do you want to die quickly or do you want to die slowly and suffer?”
“Oooooh, I love forced choices, don’t you?” Dante rolled his eyes, as if contemplating his question. “I’m the one holding the gun, so I’mnotgoing to die. Nope, not me. I’m going to wreak havoc here, then vanish until… drumroll please…May thirty-first. Five thirty-one.”
Simone was alive. That was Luciano’s primary concern.
Luciano relaxed his stance, loosened the fists he’d made. “I know who you are, Dante. You’re Jerod, Inferno531, The Bomb Maker.”
“Congratulations, shithead! You wouldn’t sell me counterfeit money, but you did becomeveryinterested in me, Mr. Santini. After a little detective work of my own, I realized you were helping our lovely Red. Red, who’s about to be dead. How areyou, the great and mighty Santini, going to handle the death of yet another loved one? I mean, the pain must still be so raw all these years later. I’ve seen you at the cemetery visiting your dead family. I’m sure it’s very touching, but I don’t have any empathy. I’m not an empath. I’m a sociopath.” He grinned. “Life’s short. If you cross me, it’sreallyshort.” He cackled, his high-pitch laugh slicing through the air. “I’m the one who killed your beautiful wife and two kiddies.”
A hatred so consuming filled every cell in Luciano’s body. Fury and revenge had him primed to release a maelstrom of violence, but he had a plan.
Time to put it into play.
“Dante—or should I call you Jerod?”
“I like that about you. You’re very couth. I prefer Dante.”
“Alright, Dante, let’s talk. Man-to-man, yes?”
“Aren’t we doing that now?”
“You’re hiding behind a woman, so no, you’re not.”
Dante stared at Luciano. “You’re not gonna pull any funny business, are you? You do, she gets it.”
“You have my word. Just a simple conversation, then you can kill me. You can finish Hirzog off too, but please, let Simone live.”
“You’re a gentleman.”
Dante moved Simone to a chair at the table, pointed his Glock at her. “Don’t move or I shoot.”
Simone glared at him.
“Okay, what do you want to talk to me about?” Dante asked as he re-aimed the gun at Luciano.
“Why the counterfeit money?” Luciano asked.
“My middle-east friends have paid me millions, but I had to fork out a huge chunk to Hirzog and his nincompoop network. If I had counterfeit to pay them with, I’d cut my expenses, amass a fortune, then vanish, leaving my army of minions to carry outmy orders.” A heinous smile filled his wretched face. “Ingenious, don’tcha think? The perfect crime.”
Dante didn’t get the boodle and he was about to die, so no, it wasnotthe perfect crime. Instead of disclosing that, Luciano continued with his line of questioning. Slowly, slowly amassing the power he needed before he took this monster out.
“Why did you kill my family? We didn’t know each other, we’d never done business together.”
Luciano slid his gaze to Simone. She was waiting. As terrifying as this situation was, she looked as calm as he felt. Calmer, maybe. They stared into each other’s eyes for a brief second and, in that fleeting moment, time stood still. He saw his future. With her, and their children. He saw a life overflowing with love and laughter. And he saw an eternity with both his families. Peace settled into his soul. He shifted his attention back to Dante.
“It was an oopsie,” Dante said. “The hit was meant for you.”
“Which rival family ordered it?”
“That’s a yes—and a no—answer.” Dante pointed his weapon at Simone, then back at Luciano. “I don’t know who I’m going to kill first. Simone, what do you think? All four of you will die. You choose who goes first!”
She didn’t respond.
