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It’s a sinking feeling I have felt in the pit of my stomach for the longest time. I wish that I didn’t feel that a confirmation of my worst fears would be so humbling.
“From the look in your eyes, you already suspected, didn’t you?”
“I can handle my own house. Thank you, Alyssa.”
She grabs my arm before I can move.
“This is a losing game. He knows every step you will make.” She stares into my eyes with an unspoken plea.
“Come with me. Let’s run away together.”
I snatch my hands away. “Like a coward.”
“A wise man knows when a battle can be won.”
“Go now, Alyssa, before it’s too late.” In painful irony, no less than a few seconds after the words leave my mouth, two deafening shots erupt from the courtyard.
Fuck!
I grab her hands and pull her into the study despite her cries of protest and her pleas. I sweep away half the books on the shelf and press down on a metallic lever hidden there. The shelf moves to the side.
“Do you have your phone with you?” I ask as I shove her into the dark space behind the shelf. She nods shakily.
“Antonio, please hear me out—”
She is interrupted by another round of shots.
“Listen to me, Alyssa, and there is a flight of steps behind you. Follow it. It leads directly outside the mansion.”
I pull out the smallest pistol tucked into my waist belt and push it into her shaky hands.
“No—I can’t do this, Antonio.”
“There are only three things you need to remember.”
“Aim, plant your feet on the ground, and squeeze.”
“I—can’t.” Our eyes meet, and another shot goes off.
I push the lever up, and the shelf slides back into place, blocking her from sight. The gunshots are raining down at this point, and I know Giovanni is here and he is baiting me.
I grab another gun from the drawer in my desk. I step outside, and I am blinded by smoke from something that has been set on fire. I wave away the smoke, stepping over the sprawling bodies on the steps. I can’t decide if they are my men or Giovanni’s.
“Look who decided to show up to the party?” comes a familiar, scathing voice.
Through the smoke, Giovanni’s face appears. He has a smile plastered on it. It is the smile of a man who has me right where he wants me.
“I didn’t think you would go through with your ridiculous plan,” I respond.
He chuckles. “You know me, Viper. I am a man of my word—well, when it comes to killing you, I am. In other instances, not so much.”
The air is beginning to clear now. I meet his gaze.
“What do you want, Giovanni?”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. How can our friendship work if you won’t even listen to me now?”
“Cut the crap.”
