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Jack raised his hands up in defeat. “It’s your funeral,” he said, shaking his head. “I want absolutely nothing to do with this.”
He turned away from us, and Ace wiggled his eyebrows at me behind his back.
I tried not to sigh.
I knew that I was taking a risk, even without Jack’s very helpful and optimistic input.
I was aware that this was a half-baked idea at best, and a really fucking terrible idea at worst, but something inside me was telling me that I was going to regret it if I didn’t at least try. The idea of killing her seemed surprisingly unappealing to me at the moment, for whatever reason.
I knew that Jack and Ace most likely assumed that I was only interested in her because of her looks, but I had killed a lot ofpeople for many years now, and something like this had never even crossed my mind.
I didn’t know what was so different about her, but I decided to trust my gut and follow what my intuition was telling me. I’ll spare her life for now, and if she turns out to be too much of a hassle, then I’ll just correct my mistake.
The worst thing that could happen was Jack telling meI told you so.
“I’m going to see the Don and inform him of what she told us,” I said, glancing over at the girl’s unconscious form one more time. “And can one of you please give her a blanket or something before I come back?”
“Ace should do it, since he’s so on board with the idea.”
I heard Jack muttering under his breath, and Ace just waved me away.
“Yeah, yeah. I got it. Just go.”
Deciding that they’ll probably not allow her to freeze to death, I nodded and left.
* * *
Walking out of the dungeons had always felt like entering a whole new world. The cells with their cold, stone walls and metal bars were replaced with halls full of hanging chandeliers and decorative statues, gleaming with gold.
Even the air that I breathed felt opulent.
I remembered the first time my brothers and I had stepped foot inside this place. How I feared that my boots were going to leave dirt marks all over the pristine carpet. How I tried notto touch anything, worried that my fingers would leave behind smudges on it.
Even after all this time, I still hadn’t quite managed to shake off the feeling ofnot belongingin a place like this.
But for all of its grandiosity and lavishness, the gilded walls that surrendered this mansion were see-through to anyone who bothered to take a closer look.
Its foundation was built with blood and gunpowder, its walls echoed with anguished screams in the night that guest upstarts pretended not to hear as they delicately sipped on their champagne.
They’ll turn a blind eye to anything if it means thatMister. Borelliwill show his support for their next candidacy, appear at their next grand opening, discreetly pass over checks with way too many zeros to count written on them…
I suspected that the Don hated the “legal” parts of his business even more than he did the unpleasant ones.
Speaking ofunpleasant…
Lorenzo.
He better not try anything now.
“King,” Lorenzo greeted me, his voice dripping with arrogance and disdain as it always did.
“Lorenzo.”
I waited for him to move aside and let me pass, but of course, he didn’t budge away from the door. I shouldered him in order to pass through, having no interest in engaging with him any longer than necessary.
Lorenzo often had the temperament of a child, but I doubted that he had the courage to actually start something in front of the Don. It turned that I was right as I heard him mutter something under his breath before he closed the door behind him.
I continued to look straight ahead, at where the Don was seated behind his desk. His eyes momentarily lifted from the documents in front of him and at his nod, I began to speak.
