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“You saved my life,” he says in an amused voice.
“Who were they?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.
He looks down at me, and fear courses through my veins. He no longer looks like a man. He looks like the devil and I cower before that glare.
“They’re dead men.”
3
DOMINIC
“Why did you want to meet me here?” Marco asks, picking up a book of nude paintings from the shelf beside him. “Since when do we frequent bookshops?”
I snatch the book from him and return it to the shelf. “Because you’re an uncultured swine, you should read more.”
“Is that any way to talk to your best friend?” He reaches for the book again. “Come on, what’s the real reason?”
I pull open the hidden door beside him. “Because it’s closed, it’s soundproofed and this whiny little bastard won’t shut the fuck up.”
I walk through the door. The bound hooded figure in the steel chair immediately starts yelling through his gag. I slap him. “Shut the fuck up, we’re not talking to you yet.”
He pulls at the ropes holding him to the chair. Marco frowns. “Who is he?”
“I made sure we took one alive from the hit on me.”
“You collecting enemies now? Planning on opening a zoo?”
“I want to know who hired him and his crew.” I yank the hood from the man’s head. Blood is pouring from the cut on his cheek, his eyes are swollen almost shut. Three teeth are missing.
I lean down close to him, lowering my voice. “Who hired you?”
“I’ve no idea. I just got a message offering me the job. Fifty thousand for one hit. If I’d known it was you, I’d never have taken it. Please, Don Caruso. Have mercy.”
The man’s eyes are wide with pure terror, his breaths coming out in ragged gasps. I give him a cold smile. “You know my reputation. Have you heard of a time I showed mercy to my enemies?”
The man’s eyes dart between us, searching for some semblance of pity. “Please,” he says. “I don’t know anything.”
I sniff the air. “I can smell a liar.” I nod toward Marco who takes out his gun. “If the next words out of your mouth are anything but a name, your brains hit that wall behind you.” The gun presses into his forehead. He winces as Marco starts to squeeze the trigger.
“Vincent Marconi.” He starts to blabber. “We were given the location, and the codes to the elevator control, but he never said it was you. Just said to take out whoever came out of the elevator…”
I silence him with a wave of my hand. Leaning down, I pat his sweat covered hair. “That wasn’t so tough was it?”
The man’s face shifts from fear to a glimmer of hope. “So, you’ll let me go?” he asks, his voice a blend of hope and desperation.
My smile is icy as I reply, “Of course not.”
His face crumples in despair as he realizes the finality of his situation. “But I told you the truth! I confessed everything. Please, have mercy!” he begs, his voice now a pitiful wail.
“You took a contract involving my building and you didn’t think I’d have a problem with that? You saw that it was me coming out of the elevator and decided to try and kill meanyway. Now your crew’s dead and you’re going to join them. I hope it was worth it.”
I signal to Marco with a slight nod. “Make sure no one finds the body.”
As Marco moves in, the man’s screams fill the room, a futile protest against the inevitable. “You’re a monster, Dominic! A monster! You’ll burn in hell for this.”
I walk away, his screams fading into the background, the weight of his words leaving no mark on my conscience. I leave the store and look at the early morning sunshine. It’s going to be a warm day later.
Marco appears next to me a minute later. “You think he’s telling the truth?”
