I slide the keys into the back pocket of my jeans.
“You okay?” he asks hoarsely.
I glance at him. His lip is gushing blood onto his T-shirt, and there’s a horribly resigned look in his eyes.
There’s a hard slap against my cheek, and it knocks me off-balance. The only thing that prevents me from falling over is Sam’s shoulder digging into my upper chest. “Keep them with you,” he whispers into my ear.
“You ran with a fucking knife at me?” my godfather hisses.
When I meet his gaze, it’s pure darkness. His eyes are dark pits, devoid of all light.
My blood is loud inside my ears. “What do you want?”
He grabs my chin. “We’ll have plenty of time to talk later. We need to get going.”
“What do we do with him?” one of his men asks, gesturing at Sam.
“He’s not important. Get rid of him.”
Horror floods through me. “No. Please, Uncle Lyle. No! Just tell me what you want, and we’ll—“
The gun goes off.
Beside me, Sam jerks.
“Sam! No, Sam!”
His body falls backward. There’s a bullet hole in the center of his forehead.
I shriek so loud I can’t believe that sound is coming out of me.
And then everything goes black.
CHAPTER 40
NERO
The sound of a gunshot rattles inside my skull. I can feel the vibration travel down my spine, sending shivers through my body. Time seems to slow down.
“Hello? Hello?” I shout into the phone, but the only thing I hear back is Blake’s stomach-curdling scream. And then the call drops.
I toss the phone on the passenger seat and slam my foot on the gas, running through a red light.
I speed down the street, dodging traffic, my heart pounding in my chest.
What am I going to find when I get back home? Did they shoot Blake? Is she already dead?
The thought makes me gasp for breath, but I push it away, focusing on the road.
Finally, I screech to a halt outside my house. Without even turning off the engine, I jump out of the car and race up to the porch. Blake’s car is in the driveway, and so is Sandro’s.
The door to the house is open.
I sprint inside, my heart in my throat. Fuck, fuck,fuck! How did this happen? If they hurt a hair on Blake’s head, I’m going to fucking destroy them.
I barge inside, and the first thing I see freezes me in my tracks. The house is deathly quiet.
And I see him.
