Page 99 of The Doctor

“That’s unfortunate.” Cosimo pulled his gun back, only to slam the butt into the side of Arik’s face.

I wanted to join my fellow lieutenants on the floor. I’d suffer more pain if it meant I could just lay down. Everything hurt, from my throbbing head to my aching heart.

Clara was right. I’d thought her ramblings were nothing but more lies spouted from a troubled girl. If only I’d listened to her.

If only I could have helped her more.

Cosimo turned to me, an evil smile on his face. “And you, Zeno? Paulo’s young confidant. The man who knows more secrets than he’ll ever tell. Surely you won’t lie to me and try to pretend like you didn’t know about that bitch’s betrayal?”

“It was a long time ago, Cosimo—”

“I don’t care how long ago it was!” He backhanded me across the face, though thankfully, not with his gun this time. Still, with the pain already raging through my head, and my hands being tied behind my back, there was no way I could continue kneeling before him.

I fell. My head slammed into the concrete in front of his spotless, shiny black shoes.

“Get them up!” His voice reverberated just like the gunshots, and it was made worse by the pain that rocketed through me as he slammed his foot into my gut.

His two men—men I couldn’t even see for their positions in the room behind me and my swollen, bloodied eye—manhandled Berto and Arik back onto their knees before yanking me off the floor by my hair. They pulled me up, forcing me onto my knees, pulling until it felt like my back would break.

I nearly fell again when they released me. Wanted to curl into a ball and lay there until this was all over. Until I was nothing but a bag of bones, an empty husk, as I bled out on the floor without Clara by my side.

My Clara.

My heart ached for her, and I wanted nothing more than to hold her one last time. To tell her I loved her, that I always had, I always would. To kiss her until she understood that my world was nothing without her in it, but that I wanted—no, I needed—her to go on.

It was only right.

It was only fair.

My beautiful little hurricane had so much to live for.

Somewhere in the back of my head, a storm raged. And through all the turmoil, through all the noise and pain, I was comforted that a piece of her was with me after all. That I could hold onto her despite all the turbulence, that I could still feel the riot of her soul.

I could still feel the shockwaves of her restless chaos as it pulsed through the air.

Except that wasn’t her causing the pandemonium that hit the room. Somewhere behind me, gunshots rang out, and it took everything in me to not fall flat onto the floor as I tried to cover my head.

“What the fuck is that?” Berto cried from beside me, while Arik turned his bloodied face my way and caught my eye.

Hope pulsed inside of me like a prayer. Had Clara convinced Jet she knew the truth? Had she told him what she knew, made him understand that this man couldn’t be trusted? That he’d tear this whole world apart.

My head swam, but I couldn’t pin down anything with the pain thrashing through me. All I could be sure of was that Cosimo still stood where he had moments ago, as if whatever was happening out there didn’t concern him in the least.

And that’s what scared me most of all.

That, and when Stephano Vinci was tossed into the room.

“Well, well, well.” Cosimo set his gun on the table behind him, then cracked his knuckles as his two men pulled the kid to his feet. “Look what the cats dragged in. Stephano, I’m so glad you showed up.”

“You’re over, old man. You’re not getting away with this anymore.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. I’ve got you all right where I want you. This time, there’s not going to be any mistakes.”

“This time?” Stephano laughed. “You mean, your second shot at taking over the Syndicate?”

“Stephano, shut up,” Berto cried from where he lay on the floor.

“No, Dad, I’m not going to stay quiet. If you knew what he did, you wouldn’t want me to, either.”