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I ran toward Silvio and spotted a bleeding hole in his gut. The blood flowed freely, and he looked at me with ultimate betrayal. I deserved it. I couldn’t let him kill Gia. I could never live with myself. Fuck if I knew why I saved her.
Fuck her.
I stared at him as I took off my jacket and tried to hold it to the wound. He pushed my hands away, his mouth moving wordlessly. His eyes were wide, as if he was seeing something terrifying. Maybe it was the devil extending his blackened hand toward him.
“I’d say I’m sorry, Pops...” I shook my head and dropped onto my heels, letting my bloody jacket fall to the ground. “But you’re a horrible piece of shit, and you deserve whatever comes to ya, including a bullet. I hope you rot in hell.” I rose to my feet and left the building, slamming the metal door behind me.
It was always just me and myself.
ChapterThirty
Gia
Isat in the backseat of the BMW with my hands folded over my chest and my mind racing. My father glanced back at me in the rearview mirror. I hoped my scowl showcased my discontent.
“Gia,” he began, his voice softer.
“No, Dad, don’t.” I let my head rest against the window. Every bump and pothole made my forehead knock on the glass, and it reminded me of the shitshow I just got re-abducted from.
“Gia, you couldn’t stay there. Don’t even think about that. He’s a Viglione.” My father said the name as if it were poison on his tongue. And honestly, it probably was.
“ThatViglionekilled his own father to protect me, and by extension, you as well.” I let my face press against the cool window.
“Trust me when I say that he did not kill his father for you.” His light eyes glared at me. He was probably right. Enzo never did anything that didn’t benefit him in some way. “We're going to have a little chat about that recorder. I’m so disappointed in you.” My father’s disappointment hurt more than taking a bullet. I grazed my leg where a bullet had once pierced through my flesh and narrowly missed my artery.Thathurt less than this.
“I know, Daddy,” I whispered as I looked at the familiar road which led toward our house. It had been a while since I stepped foot in my own home instead of being kept beneath the wing of the Vigliones. It had only been a couple of weeks, but it felt like forever. He had felt likehome.
With a sigh, I climbed out of the car and walked toward the front door. Once loved, the beautiful landscaping now seemed ominous. Each flower reached toward the sun, exploding with life. Seeing them made me realize how lifeless I had felt on these grounds.
“Get changed and come to the library,” my father said toward me.
I looked down at my torn, muddy jeans. With another sigh, I headed toward my room off the side of the house. We didn’t have a fence surrounding the property like Enzo’s family, but we had guards posted on the grounds. My father called them our soldiers. They were highly trained young men wishing to crawl up the ranks somehow.
I opened the heavy door and stepped into my bedroom. The air felt stale, so I opened the window. The cool breeze played against my face, teasing my hair. It reminded me of Enzo’s touch. I changed out of my jeans and headed toward the library. The socks on my feet made the shining tile floors feel slippery. With a quick inhale, I opened the door and was embraced by the scent of my father’s cigars and liquor.
He motioned me inside with a quick gesture, and I went and sat beside him. I crossed my legs and played with my hair nervously, feeling the soft strands against my fingers. He handed me a glass, and I took a sip of the rich alcohol. It burned my throat on the way down, worming into my empty stomach and emptying heart.
“Giovanna,” my father began. Whenever he used my full name, I knew I was in for it. “This was all your idea to get ahead of the Vigliones.”
It had all been my idea. My birdbrain plan to eliminate the Vigliones as a rival. Without them in the game, there would be enough peace that I could get out of the business. Leave that all behind without guilt. I felt dead inside from this work, and I just wanted to revive myself again. Being with Enzo had changed my mindset. The business had become more fascinating to me, like it had when I was a child. I enjoyed the nervous excitement in a room full of men that would kill me without a beat of hesitation. To have hands between my legs from a man that would take a bullet for me. There weren't enough men like that in this business anymore. Wandering eyes and roving hands. Enzo only looked at me, andthatrevived me.
“I know, Daddy, but—”
“Then why would you do that? Why would you destroy the chance of taking them down? Where the hell was your loyalty?” He rose to his feet and paced a tight circle. The worst thing anyone in your family could do was call loyalty into question. But realistically, where was it? He wasn’t wrong to question it.
“I hardly saw anything. I was pretty much kept as a hostage!” I said with exasperation. Ihadbeen held hostage, and then one day, I just didn’t want to leave.
“You didn’t hear them talk about business? Didn’t meet anyone they were doing business with?” He raised his eyebrow at me, disbelief clear in his expression.
My lips tightened. “Why do you find that so hard to believe? Would you have let a rival daughter hang out with you during business hours?”
“Silvio’s son would have become lax around you. I know it,” he said as he gulped his drink.
“You don’t know anything about Enzo!”
“I know enough, Gia. I know he would have wanted you, and you probably would have let him have you.” His harsh words were meant to hurt, which was unlike my father. His frustration had coursed through his veins and flown out of his mouth.
“Dad!” I dropped my jaw. “That’s a shitty thing to say about your own daughter.”
