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Marly screamed, a garbled sound muffled by the napkin.
“Die.” I twisted the opener.
The other guy that I had hit with the bottle recovered, rose up, and stumbled towards me.
I let go of Marly and searched for another weapon.
Shit. Give me something. Anything. Ah, there we go.
I rushed for the far end of the bar, seized a knife lying next to some sliced lemons, and without hesitation, I drove it into the other guy’s throat.
There we go!
“Argh!!” He clutched at the handle, eyes wide.
A gurgling sound escaped his lips.
Then he fell, lifeless.
Is that all of them?
I stood there, breathing hard.
The smell of lemons mixed with the gunpowder fog.
Dead bodies, broken glass, and puddles of blood decorated the floor. And in the right corner, flames continued to turn the one man into a black husk.
Other flames raged up the wall.
Good. Let the whole place burn down to ashes.
Hands grabbed me from behind.
Fuck. I forgot about Marly.
Somehow, I got out of his grip, spun around, and launched myself at him. My fists landed with brutal precision.
His nose broke with a sickening crunch.
His face went pale.
And, I was on him before he knew it. “Time to die, you fucking traitor!”
“Wait! Wait!” Marly screamed and stumbled back. “Please, don’t kill me. I had your back the whole time you were gone. I swear to God I did.”
“Had my back?” I had approached him slowly. “How?”
He coughed up blood. “Francesca wanted to kill Zuri.”
Horror surged through my chest.
He stumbled back some more. “I got Zuri out of town, put her in a place on the edge of Paradise City, right in the South on the border.”
I closed the distance and leaned forward. My face was now inches from his. “And now she is alive and safe?”
“Yes. Every now and then I drop money in her mailbox and leave. I don’t think she is using it, but your kid and her are alive because of me.”
What?!!!!
The words hit me like a punch to the gut, freezing me in place.
Kid? My child? With Zuri?
Not noticing my shock, Marly continued, “Z-zuri would have been dead without my help. I swear.”
I grabbed his arms and gripped them hard. “Kid?!”
Marly widened his eyes in horror. “Y-you didn’t know?”
“No, you son of a bitch. I’ve been in jail!”
“S-she’s at 5656 Beacon Road. I’m not lying. I can take you right over there.”
A whirlwind of emotions swept through me—shock, disbelief, joy, rage, and confusion. My mind flooded with thoughts of Zuri, her face, her smile, her touch. The memories of our love and the pain of our separation.
A kid. Our kid.
I looked at Marly, my mind reeling, my heart pounding.
Is he telling the truth? Or is this just a desperate attempt to save his life?
“Please, Dante, I’m telling the truth. Zuri. . .your child. . .I can take you there!”
Although those squinty eyes begged me to believe him, I had no more trust left in me.
Not for the Crimson Mob.
Not for anyone connected to the Red Widow.
Therefore, the pain in his eyes, the desperation in his voice, none of it could sway me from the path I had chosen.
“I-I kept them safe. I s-swear.”
“I’m sorry, Marly.” My voice went cold. “But your words mean nothing to me.”
I let go of his arms, grabbed him by the throat, and dug my fingers into his flesh, feeling the frantic pulse of his heart beneath my touch. “Fuck you!”
Marly struggled to live clawing at my arms with his hands.
I squeezed harder, watching the light fade from his eyes.
It only took seconds, but it had felt like an eternity. The sound of his last breath was a soft, strangled sigh.
Yet, in my mind questions spun.
Was he lying? Did I get Zuri pregnant?
When it was clear that Marly was dead, I released him.
His lifeless body slumped to the floor.
I gazed around.
The room was still with death. The only sound was the crackling of the flames and my own ragged breathing.
It’s done.
Stunned, I left the bar as it began to really go up in flames.
My hands trembled, not from the fight but from the possibility that I was now a. . .father.
What the fuck? That can’t be true. . .
My soul was torn between the cold satisfaction of revenge and the aching uncertainty of a love lost but not forgotten.
The path to killing Red Widow was still there, that much was certain.
But. . .I had to go on a detour; I needed to know the truth.
The truth about Zuri.
The truth about our child.
The truth about the life I’d lost and the love that might still be waiting for me.
If it wasn’t too late.
Or has she moved on? It doesn’t matter. If that’s my child, then I want to be in his or her life.
Chapter 5
Idiot
Marly’s revelation continued to hijack my mind.
A kid?
The horrifying shock of it all ricocheted off every corner of my consciousness.
