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I grabbed my keys from the night stand and stalked out. “Go on.” I say before putting my phone on speaker and start my car.
“So anyway, Mark shoved him away and told him that he could fuck off-.”
That’s my boy.
“And Tizzy didn’t take that well. All of a sudden, he had a gun in his hand, and it was point-blank range. Benedetto leapt at him, tried to stop him, and he did manage to knock him out, but Mark was already sh-shot.” She started crying again.
“Where are you now?”
“Benedetto brought us to a warehouse in Jersey. He says you’ll know which one.”
I grind my teeth grimly and accelerate. It takes me no more than thirty minutes to arrive there. Mark’s body is laid out on the bed that Giada had slept in, and Tiziano is tied to the same chair that Giada had been tied to. As soon as he catches sight of me, Benedetto hurries over to give me a hug.
We hold each other tight for a moment before I let him go. We look in each other’s eyes, letting the bleakness and grief show through for just a moment. There’ll be time to deal with all of that… later.
I take a deep breath. “Take Rose and get out of here.” I say quietly to Benedetto.
He nods without demur. Even though I know she has been there the whole time, I don’t acknowledge Rose at all. I can’t help but blame her a little for this mess. I wait until I hear the door close before turning to the man in the chair. He’s still knocked out.
Benedetto has a hell of a right hook.
I step forward, just looking at this man who’d taken my brother’s life so callously. Mark and I might not have been blood, but we were definitely family. I reach out and bitch slap the guy.
He grunts, half in surprise, half in pain and his eyelashes begin to flutter. Just for incentive, I slap him again. This time his eyes fly open, and he looks up at me, the anger apparent for all to see.
“There you are. I thought you were going to sleep all night.”
“Fuck you.” He spits at me.
Normally I’m a very patient guy. Forgiving even. But he’s triggered my last nerve by killing my best friend. Everything he’s doing now is just overkill. Before I know it, my gun is in my hand, pointed unflinchingly at his forehead. “Wanna try that again?” I ask coldly.
“You took my cousin, and you thought you could just get away with that? Are you stupid? We will kill you all!” he roars, and I pull the trigger.
I don’t even think about it. I just see the lack of remorse in his eyes, and I know he has to die. I watch his body, slumped over in the chair he is still tied to, a single drop of blood dripping from his head onto his deep blue velvet pants. It sinks into the luscious material leaving a darkened perfectly rounded spot on it. I stared at it for a long time, breathing hard.
Snuffing out a life is never easy. Even when you hate the person’s guts with all your soul. Even when they took a life first.
I stare at Tiziano’s no longer breathing body, the incongruity of it. Not a minute ago, he was shouting threats at me. Now he’s a piece of clay in too-expensive loafers and velvet pants stained with blood.
I know I have to untie him, make sure that his body is returned to his family, but first, I want to see my friend.
Mark looks peaceful as he lies on the bed, and if it wasn’t for the large red stain on his white silk shirt, it would have been easy to assume he was just asleep.
I blink a few times, my thoughts a jumble. Even seeing him in front of me, it’s difficult for me to accept that he’s dead. This life we lived came with no guarantees, for sure, but Mark had been by my side since we were kids, closer to me than all of my blood kin.
I don’t know how I’ll go on. Killing Tiziano hasn’t made a whit of difference. Mark’s still dead. I open my mouth and let a scream out, knowing there is no one for miles to hear me.
In my pocket, my phone buzzes. I jerk in startlement and then dig it out, ready to curse out whoever is calling me.
It’s Giada.
I clear my throat, wipe my eyes, and answer. “Hey babe.”
“Where are you? What happened?”
I open my mouth to tell her, but the words won’t come. I sigh tiredly. “Just business. I’ll tell you about it later.”
“Must have been urgent for you to take off from your honeymoon bed.” She persists.
