AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Even in my burning-hot anger, a cold draft blows through my heart. I can’t even imagine what he told her to get her to go. I grit my teeth and growl, “What the fuck did you say?”
“I may have embellished a little. I told her she was on borrowed time. That you suspected she was a traitor. That you or your father would ax her in due time.”
My mind jumps back to our last night together. Falynn had been convinced I was angry with her—and I was after my talk with Pa. But the way she had provoked me, shoved me, and yelled as if desperate for any clues as to how I felt, she had been at her wit’s end, grasping at straws for a reason to stay.
I hadn’t given her one. Instead I had fucked her, convinced I was taking out my aggression, and then I had turned my back to her. No wonder she left in the middle of the night. She probably thought she had no other choice.
I snap back to the present with a howl of fury. I launch myself across the couch, spearing into Robby at full speed. Our bodies are airborne for a brief second as we soar across the room. We land with a crash against the glass entertainment center. Shards go flying in every direction, but we’re too busy wrestling for control.
For being a gangly sack of bones with a broken nose, Robby’s got fight in him. I admit to underestimating him as we grapple, and he proves to be slippery and limber as fuck. More than once he escapes my hold, forcing me to lock my arm around his throat in a chokehold.
“You fucking dipshit. You were supposed to be my right hand…my best friend!”
He grunts struggling against my stronghold. Blood is everywhere. His. Mine. We’re stumbling over shards from the broken entertainment center. He manages to get his fingers wrapped around a jagged piece and jams it into my thigh.
I roar in answer, losing part of my footing. Arm still clenched around his neck, I bring him along with me as I collide with the wall.
“I was your right hand! Your best friend!” he spits. “Then you got stupid! Why play for the losing team when I can win?”
“You think Lovato’ll have you after you’ve proved you’re a rat?”
He juts his pointy elbow into my stomach, finding nothing but hard-packed muscle. “He promised me power! My own crew on this coast! My own operation! More than you’ve ever given me!”
“And you call me a dumb fuck, dumb fuck!” I let go of his neck and swing another fist, knuckles banging into his chin in an uppercut. He sails backward, landing like a crash test dummy. I’m on him straightaway, throwing out left and right hooks, beating his bloody face in.
I almost notice his retaliation a second too late. His arm splays out at his side, stretching for something under the shards of glass. The gun that had been on my desk had knocked to the floor along with everything else. His fingers wrap around the handle and then the trigger. He moves his arm to turn the barrel toward me, but I’ve already grabbed the first item within reach.
As Robby’s finger shifts to pull the trigger, I slice his throat with the shard of glass that was once lodged in my thigh. Blood spurts everywhere, spraying my face. Even my mouth. Robby goes still, his eyes open wide, the gun clattering onto the floor.
For a long time, I don’t move. I’ve killed many times before. But taking the life of your best friend is another level. It takes something deeper out of you, leaving unsettled nerves in the aftermath. I struggle to catch my breath as reality sinks in. Robby was the rat. Robby’s now dead.I killed him.
And Falynn needs me.
The door bangs open and Louis huffs and puffs running inside. Horror strikes his face as he surveys the rubble.
“I heard glass breaking from the level below and came as fast as I could. What in the hell, Boss? Robby’s…dead?”
“Robby was the rat.” I rise onto legs that aren’t so steady. I walk it out, tearing off my shirt and using it to wipe blood from my face. “He gave me no other choice. Have Fozzi dispose of him.”
“Robby…the rat…” Louis mutters in shock. He shakes his head and swears under his breath.
“We’ve got no time to waste. Lovato knew about the hit. Robby told him. He called earlier and wants me to meet him at La Festa in,” I say, glancing at my watch, “twenty minutes. I’ve got no choice. He’s got Falynn.”
“Kid sister?” Louis’s shock vanishes, replaced with outrage. He gestures to the guns in his holster. “What are we waiting for? We’ve got a casino to crash!”
“I’m supposed to go alone, but can I count on you and the others to provide backup?”
“Boss, I’m ready to go in guns blazing myself if Miss Falynn’s in trouble.”
“Good. Call my pilot, tell him we’re doing the chopper tonight. Grab Dominico. We’re going to need his marksmen skills.”
I mop more blood from my face and then check on the stab wound in my thigh. Luckily, the glass didn’t go too deep. I clean it as best as I can and discard the damp, stained shirt. Louis and I fall into step with each other as we stride out the office, and I shoot him a sideways glance. “Louis?”
“Yeah, Boss?”
“Sorry I called you fat a few weeks ago.”
Louis grins. “Enjoy it while you can. Next month, I’m doing Weight Watchers.”
