AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But in the end, I hope she does. I hope she thinks fondly of me now and then, but not too often. I’m not fond of the idea of Kat spending the rest of her days in any pain or misery, especially not over me.
Soon, it won’t matter, anyway. Shackled and unarmed, I will die tonight at Salvatore’s hands, and Kat will be safe.
Over the years, Dmitri often asked me about my past and my will to live and overcome my pitiful circumstances. He often marveled at it, amazed at how far removed I had come to be from the street urchin I once was. Moments ago, when he brought me before the heads of the Seven Families, memories of my trials and youth flooded me and I started to feel emotional.
I found myself reminiscing about the tortuous path that has brought me here. All the pain and suffering, the senseless violence… All the longing and yearning, and the undeniable desire to reach for something better than myself.
I have accomplished so much in a little over three decades on this earth, but I will leave it knowing I could have achieved so much more.
I have so many regrets… I wish I had done so much differently. There are so many mistakes I won’t have the time to fix. But if anything had been different, maybe I wouldn’t have known Kat. Perhaps I wouldn’t have stumbled upon her at that party.
Even now, I can picture her so clearly—her lush lips curving into a tempting smile as her dark blue eyes sparkle at me.
By a serendipitous turn of fate, I came across the most fascinating woman ever born. Somehow, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to get to know her. I savored the feel of her on me, under me, and around me as I brought her pleasure over and over again. With my last breath, I’ll regret the pain I’ve caused her, but I’ll part this world knowing I protected her to the end.
If only I had known years ago that Kat would be in my future someday, even for a short time… How much more could I have achieved? What kind of man could I have become?
Throughout my life, the one thing I could always count on was my desire to survive, to seize the chance to carry on and become something better than I was the day before. Even during the darkest times of my early years, this yearning was the only constant I knew. I’ve never been willing to lay down my life for something more significant than myself. Truthfully, I’ve struggled to picture a cause greater than my need for survival. But I will gladly do it for Kat’s life, for her future, safety and happiness.
Salvatore’s pale blue eyes shine with unconcealed pleasure at the sight of me bound and powerless before him. His slick, greasy smirk twists his unbecoming features into a disturbing picture under the flickering lights above.
I shove my shoulders back, meeting his mocking gaze without hesitation. Even though my life is about to end, I know I have won. Kat will be happy and free of him and me.
The only regret I will take with me is that I hurt her so badly. If only we hadn’t wasted so much time that we could’ve spent being happy together…
23
KAT
Hidden behind one of the ornate, crumbling marble columns, I survey the old bank with disgust.
No current of fresh air stirs down on the crumbling lobby, lending the area a mildewy stench. Without the slightest traces of a draft, dust has piled up since the decrepit bank last was in business. Sooty leather chairs and shiny bullet casings litter the gold-veined, black marble floors.
After almost a decade of vacancy, most of the building has decayed into ruins, and even the paint is peeling from the walls.
Even though I put the pedal to the metal to get here, the drive still took the better part of an insufferable hour, seeming interminable at every mile of the road leading to the bank. With each passing minute, I became more and more convinced that I was going to be too late and Dmitri and his father would have already executed Nik by the time I managed to get to their location.
A dozen yards from where I stand, I spot movement under the glow of a dim overhead light fixture. A handful of men start to gather in somber silence. Members of the Seven Families, no doubt.
Careful not to make noise and denounce my presence, I remain hidden, watching. My plan’s minuscule chances of success depend on A.J. and I having the element of surprise. Of course, all our efforts could be in vain if Nik is already dead. But I can’t allow myself to go down that path just yet. I need to focus on what I can control right now.
Barely daring to breathe, I observe a small crowd of finely dressed men standing in a semicircle around the faint light. Behind them, more of the same decaying Corinthian marble columns loom. Inside their expensively made jackets, tucked underneath their waistbands or cleverly hidden around their ankles, the bulges of weapons of different sizes are unmistakable.
Was that the fate that awaited Nik? To be shot to death?
Only over my dead body.
The men’s shifty eyes and shuffling feet denounce their uneasiness at being here. My guess is that they are not too eager to hang out in a dark room with their worst rivals.
A shiver runs down my spine as I study their hardened stares and the cruel glint in their eyes. I can’t even begin to imagine the horrible things they’d do to me and A.J. if they got their hands on us… But I force myself to remain focused on my task and continue looking for signs of Nik, Dmitri and the stronzo. I can’t afford any distracting thoughts or emotions right now.
My heart threatens to slam out of my chest, and my breath catches as I spot Dmitri and his repulsive father leading Nik to the area where the other men are gathered. Relief like I have never known before courses through me, and I have to steady myself against a marble column as my legs start to give out.
Nik is still alive.
Unshed tears pool in my eyes, but I manage to keep them at bay, quietly drying them and taking deep, calming breaths to keep myself from unraveling into a crying mess of a woman.
Thankfully, as Giuseppe Salvatore steps closer to the light, my anger returns a hundred times stronger than before. He hauls Nik to a spot under the dim spotlight while slickly smiling in triumph.
