Page 128 of Humility

These were the words I’d always longed to hear. My father had held who would take over above my head like a carrot. I jumped to his tune like a marionette on a string, but the excitement that not long ago would’ve filled me didn’t spark. I was no longer going to be anyone’s puppet.

“I don’t want it. Name one of my cousins or whoever you’ve manipulated into thinking that stepping into your shoes is a prize, but as of today, the only thing we will have in common is our last name. I’ve made arrangements to take over the payments owed to Riker Rhodes and as soon as I’m finished paying it off I will pay you back every dime you spent to date. I don’t want anything from you, not ever again. Now, get out of my hospital room. I need to rest.”

“As promised,” Giovanni said as we stopped in front of a cell I hadn’t seen before. Had I been transported into The Silence of the Lambs? The cell was lit with lamps, and a glass wall allowed you to see the plush bed, desk, and chairs. Lucas lounged on the couch reading a book like he was at a fucking resort, and I looked at Giovanni like he’d lost his mind.

“I said take care of him. I didn’t mean to treat him like a pet. What the hell is this?” I held my hand toward Lucas, who looked up and spotted me. He sneered as he slammed the book down and marched toward the glass.

“He can’t hurt anyone in there. I know I can’t let him roam free—that didn’t work—but I can’t kill him. He is still my son.”

“Your son is—”

“I know what he is. I don’t need you to remind me.” Tension grew around us, the guards shifting as they waited to see what I would do next.

I shook my head. “He better not get out of there, not ever. Or I will hunt him down and do what you can’t.”

Giovanni stared into my eyes and finally gave a single nod. “Understood.”

“Let me the fuck out of here,” Lucas yelled, his fist hitting the thick glass. He stomped across the room, grabbed the desk chair, and came back to slam it against the wall like a child having a tantrum. “This is all your fault, Esposito, and when I get out of here, I’m coming for you and your little bitch Jasmine, too.”

“Your poetry is getting better, Lucas. Keep it up. You have nothing but time to perfect the skill,” I called back and smiled. The Hulk-like meltdown was well worth it as he tore his shirt off and screamed at me. I shot a glance at Giovanni. “Yes, I can see now why you want to keep him around. This is quite amusing.”

“Make fun all you want, but one day you will have a child, and when you do, you will see that you would do anything for them.”

He might be right about that, but I would have to see when I got there. We followed along the hallway until we came to a far less lush and cushy cell. A man hung in chains, stripped of his clothes, while the dank scent of mold and shit wafted out of the small space.

“Hello, Jacopo,” I said, and his head lifted to look at me. “You don’t look pleased to see me,” I drawled. “Were you hoping your bullet killed me? You’ve certainly done your best to try and ruin me multiple times.”

“You were in the way.”

I shrugged out of my jacket, rolled up my sleeves, and nodded to the guard manning the door.

“I want to thank you,” I said, and his eyes narrowed. “If you hadn’t gone to such great lengths to get me out of the way, I wouldn’t have understood what I had. I am the man I am today because of what you did.”

“Well, that’s lovely. How about you let me go as my reward then?” Even the beard he was now sporting couldn’t hide the evil of his smile. “I promise to be a good boy.”

“No, I don’t think so. The day you laid a hand on Jasmine was the day you signed your death certificate.” Getting up close, I made sure he saw hell in my eyes. “Not to worry though, I have decided on a fitting death for you.”

“Do your worst. Nothing you do will scare me.”

I smiled as my fist landed a blow to his side. He grunted and winced away from the impact. “We’ll see about that.”

* * *

“That’s it? That was your big threat?” Jacopo laughed as he was unhooked from the chains. I didn’t want to go too far, but I made sure that every punch was a statement for the deaths he’d caused and the life he tried to take away from me.

The guards dragged him across the stone floor, blood dripping from his mouth and eyes swollen shut. The wild laugh that came out of him sounded insane as the massive door, far thicker than all the others, locked into place.

Jacopo sat in the middle of the floor like he was pretending to do yoga and continued to throw insults in my direction.

“I must admit this was an unusual request, but I’m looking forward to it,” Giovanni said.

My gaze briefly met Dario and Enzo, and they looked as calm as I felt with my decision. Giovanni raised his hand to the guard, and with a grinding sound, the wall shifted to the side.

Jacopo stopped his ridiculous rambling and looked over his shoulder to the dark void. The hair stood on the back of my neck, anticipation filling me as a soft, throaty growl came from the darkness. Jacopo spun around and got to his feet just as one orange and black paw stepped into the light.

“What are you doing? Let me out of here?” The panic in his voice made the dark parts of my heart smile.

The massive Bengal tiger slowly stepped into the cell, its golden eyes piercing and fangs easy to see as it pulled its lip up and growled again. One paw was the size of my face, and we all took a big step away from the bars.