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A laugh escaped the man. “Oh, you naïve girl. What a luxury that innocence must be. Yes, you’ve been through hell, but my dear daughter, hell is much bigger than you ever thought it was. This world is much bigger, much deeper, much darker than you thought it was. The places I’ve been, I couldn’t be anything else but who I am.”
A shiver went down Amara’s spine at his words.
Xavier grinned at seeing her shudder. “Let the sleeping monsters lie, girl. They already have their eyes on the Outfit because of Lorenzo’s death, which they’re writing off as an internal thing. These people have no conscience. No humanity. You will unleash something upon your family I don’t think you truly understand. You’ll see when your child-”
A wave of protectiveness crashed over her so intensely it made her heart stutter.
Amara took the gun from Dante’s lap, her hand gripping it hard. She wanted to shoot him. She wanted to shoot him and remove his essence from a world where her child would be born. But doing that would lose them a lead. He could give them information that could save countless other children. But he didn’t deserve to live.
The indecision between her maternal instinct for her child and her protective instinct for other children warred inside her. Amara put her nose on the gun, breathing in and out, trying to contain the rage his words unleashed inside her.
This man had made so many people suffer, and she couldn’t make him pay because he had the power to stop others from suffering.
Win. Dante always said when dealing with his father – lose a battle, win the war. She needed to lose this.
Amara straightened her arm, her eyes flickering to Dante once to see him watching her, and she unlocked the gun as Vin had taught her, and pointed it to the man grinning at her, her arms slightly shaking. The proximity to him allowed her to aim better, and she pulled the trigger over his kneecap.
The loud shot and the recoil hit her hard, pushing her back into the chair as Xavier screamed in pain, clutching his knee.
“That’s for fifteen-year-old me, you bastard,” she rasped out, the satisfaction of watching the blood leave him acute in her. Dante didn’t say a word, just watched her like a hawk as she watched her father, her chest heaving.
Aiming to the other knee, she blew it out too. “And that’s for Dante’s mother and countless other innocent people you’ve destroyed.”
She stood up, walking to the chair he was howling in and pointed the gun to his head.
“Listen to me, and listen well, Xavier,” Amara said, her voice firm, bringing his attention to herself. “Your organization has spies here? It’s time we plant our own there. You will help us plant a spy in your ranks. You will help us find the missing kids. You will give us answers. And you will keep your mouth shut about it. If at any point, you betray us and bring danger to my door, if anything you do directly falls on my family, forget anyone else,” Amara stated, digging the gun into his forehead, seeing his eyes widen slightly. “I will make them hurt you, over and over and over, and I won’t let them give you death until your skin is flayed from your bones. Am I clear?”
He nodded.
She turned to Dante. “Promise me, if his shadow ever falls on our children, you will make him suffer.”
“With pleasure,” Dante promised, blowing a ring of smoke in her father’s face.
Amara nodded and walked back to the chair. “So, who’s going to be our plant in the Syndicate?”
“I am,” Vin said from the side.
Amara looked at him, her heart racing. “Vinnie.”
Vin’s eyes came to her. “I couldn’t protect you then, but I can now. Let me do this.”
Amara stared at her lifelong friend, seeing the man he had grown up to be, and felt her heart soften.
“We’ll discuss this later in my office,” Dante said to him, standing up from his seat and extending his hand to Amara. “As for this bastard, lock him up here for now.”
Amara took his hand and began walking away from the scene, climbing the stairs, walking out of the center.
Dante smoked the last of his cigarette, taking a drag, staying silent. Amara knew he was fuming at her so she stayed silent too. They walked to the mansion and headed to his study, him closing the door behind her and pushing her up against it, his hand holding her jaw, his eyes blazing. “Defy me like
that again when it comes to your safety, and I kid you not, I will lock you up, Amara.”
Once upon a time, that statement would have possibly triggered her. Knowing this man now, Amara rolled her eyes. “Why would I defy you if it doesn’t make sense? I’m not a thrill-seeker. I like my life quiet. And I like being safe. But when you deny me a chance for closure, I will take matters into my own hands, Dante.”
“You don’t see him anymore. You don’t deal with him anymore. You don’t even think of him anymore,” he growled an inch from her lips. “I will deal with him and I will take care of him when the time comes.”
Amara stroked his chest. “Okay.”
“The spy planting was a good idea, by the way. Well done.”
