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Iskid to a halt and jump out, running past them toward the inferno in front of me. The entire compound is alight. House, stables, dog kennels, even the fucking pond seems to be on fire. Half the roof has caved in. I’m guessing a bomb went off first. Then the fire. Son of a bitch will pay for this.
I try to push past the fire fighters. There’s got to be a chance my folks are alive in there.
It takes six of them, but they stop me, holding me in place as I curse them all. “Let me through,” I yell. “Why aren’t you getting them out?”
“We’re doing all we can,” one of them says, straining to hold on to my arm. “You need to let us do our jobs, Mr. Donatello.”
Someone’s staggering out of the flames toward us, carrying a figure on their back. I look closer. It’s a firefighter, and he’s got my sister. He sets her down and I can tell she’s dead.
At once, I want to look away but I make myself keep staring. This is all my fault. I deserve the pain of looking at this.
Her face is half burned off. I can see her jaw, those teeth that gave her such a goofy smile when they were first coming through. Sophie. Twenty-five years old. Engaged to be married. Two months pregnant. She’ll never smile again. Never do anything again. Piper did this.
That bastard.
I roar out loud, shoving off the men holding me, running over to her, scooping her up into my arms. I know it’s hopeless, but there’s a part of me that thinks I can will her back to life. Her hair is burned off, and she’s roasting hot to the touch, burning my hands as I hold her tight.
The smell is indescribable, but I don’t care.
They try to pull me away from her. I lash out like a wild animal, punching several of them before the cops get involved. I try to fight them too but they get out the Taser. It slams into me, sending me down to the ground, my back arching, my jaw clenched shut.
They get cuffs on me before shutting off the current. I’ve got knees in my back, my neck, my legs. One cop leans down, whispering in my ear. “This is what you get for saying no to Mr. Piper, Marco.”
My head is turned sideways, and that means I can see when the bodies of my parents are brought out. They’re in worse condition than Sophie. At this point, the fight goes out of me. There’s no one left to save. The dogs are dead. My family is dead. It’s all gone. All because I said no.
With a tremendous roaring sound, the rest of the roof of the main house caves in. Flames fly high into the air, sparks shooting up into the heavens.
I’m lifted to my feet a moment later. Three cops are walking me through the crowd, taking hold of my cuffs, leading me away from the bodies, away from the firefighters, out toward the street.
“I’ll take it from here,” a detective says, flashing his badge at them. “Not going to fight me, are you, Marco?”
I say nothing. I know that voice.
He opens the back door of a black car as the other three cops walk away. Once he’s sure they’re gone, he undoes the cuffs. “You have to hide,” he says, lifting his cap to show his face.
Petey?” I say, staring closer at him.
He passes me the car key while glancing behind us to see if anyone’s watching. “You know where to go. Alessandro says he’ll come see you soon. Start sorting all this out.”
I get into the car. He nods toward me, tapping the roof twice, and then he’s gone. Just one more cop among the rest. But one of the few that Piper hasn’t bought out from under me.
I set off, driving without looking back.
They’re dead. My entire family is dead. I think back to what that anonymous cop said. This is what I get for saying no.
This is all my fault. My family is dead because of me. I’m the last of the Donatello line. I have no heir. The family name will die out with me. Nearly died today. If that car had been better driven. Or the shooter had better aim.
I’m alive for a reason. To kill Tony Piper.
All I can think about is revenge, but not yet. Piper will be on high alert, expecting an immediate attack. I need to hide out, work on a plan. Speak to my consigliere. Alessandro will know what to do next. He’s advised my father for years until the old man retired. Now he advises me. Last year, he’s been dropping hints about getting into Piper’s line of work, thinks that’s where the real money is. I’m many things, but I am not a human trafficker. That’s where I draw the line.
I know where Petey means for me to go. We have a property in the country, one that no one knows about outside the family. I’ll be safe. It’s staffed by a few people loyal to me. I can stay there while I decide on my next move.
I need to find some way to get to Piper. He’s likely to be surrounded by guards at all times. He has a security detail that goes with him everywhere. I need to draw him out.
I’ll find a way. The only thing I have left to live for is revenge. I’ll get him for what he did to my family if it’s the last thing I do. Find anyone related to him and take them out as well, make him feel what I’m feeling right now.
I don’t cry.
