Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 59304 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 297(@200wpm)___ 237(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59304 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 297(@200wpm)___ 237(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
“It’s over, it’s over,” Veronica mumbles in the corner.
“Far from it. I’ve got the Prince of the Bianchi Family as a hostage.”
“How’d you figure that?” I growl.
He presses the gun against Siena’s head harder. The movement loosens her hairdo, strands falling loose. “Because you care about this girl, or did you forget about all our heart to hearts?”
“Who the fuck are you?” I take a step forward, then stop when he glares at me, his finger on the trigger.
“I’m a man who is going to take what he’s owed.”
“Your plan failed. Your sabotage failed.”
“I’m more than a consigliere. I’m better than that.”
“I get it, Rocco. You thought you could tarnish my father’s reputation. You had a plan… but listen. It’s done.”
“Plan A is done, sure,” he sneers.
“Plan A was sabotaging the event every chance you got. And what about the rocks, you bastard? At the photoshoot.”
He grins, then shrugs like it’s no big deal. “Easy enough to loosen a few of them during the break, sure. Either your mommy and daddy fell off the ridge, or they stumbled and looked like jackasses. Win, win.”
But Siena saved my mother. Just like I’m going to save her.
“Let’s walk it through from here, then,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady, trying to think. How can I get to Siena without him shooting her?
When he jumped into the water, did he keep the gun above the waterline? Perhaps it’s waterlogged and it’ll jam, but I can’t bet Siena’s life on that chance. If I’m wrong…
There’s roughly five feet between us. Too far. Plenty of time for him to pull the trigger.
Fuck.
“I can see the cogs whirring in your head,” Rocco says, chuckling. “You can’t accept you’re beat.”
“Answer my question. What do you think happens next?” A pause. “You don’t have a plan.”
“All I know is, I’m better off with you as a hostage than without.”
“Then take me. You don’t need Siena. We’ll swap places. Siena will do what you say if you’ve got a gun pointed at me.”
“Is that so?” He gives Siena a shake.
“Yuh-yes,” she stutters.
“And why’s that?”
“You suh-said he cared about muh-me.” She bites down, seeming annoyed at herself for the stuttering. “I care about him too.”
“How sweet.” Rocco shakes his head. “I’d be a fool to risk that. You need to sit down on the other side of the room, Dario.”
“If you pull that trigger, there will be ten men here in a minute flat.”
“Excellent. They can help scoop sweet Siena’s brains off the floor.”
“You’ll be killed, Rocco,” I growl. “Even if you use every shot in that gun, that’s six bullets. We’ve got more than six men ready to tear you limb from goddamn limb if you do this.”
“Just sit down. You can’t talk your way out of this one.” When I don’t move, he forces the gun against Siena’s head again, causing her to bend awkwardly. “I will execute her. Sit down.”
I back up, putting even more distance between us, then drop into the chair. Leaning forward, I get my body in a position to spring forward if I need to.
“Good,” Rocco says. “Now, let me think.”
“You can think all you want. There’s no way to leverage this situation to become Don. The best you can hope for now, since you haven’t killed anyone, is exile. That should be your play.”
“Begging for my life?”
“Yes.”
He chuckles. “I’m surprised you’re not trying to use the godfather-godson angle, appeal to my softer side.”
“I clearly never knew you,” I say.
“Does that hurt you, Dario?” He sneers.
When I don’t say anything, he laughs. “I thought you were going to say something like not as bad as I’ll hurt you.”
I glare at him, feeling like I’m looking at a stranger. I’ve known this man since I was a child. At least, I thought I did.
He sighs. “I need to think. There’s a way to leverage this.”
“If you let me go, you have a chance,” Siena whispers.
“How brave you are, girl, with a gun to your head.”
“Dario won’t let you get away with this.”
“Why–because he loves you?”
“I don’t know if it’s possible to love this fast. I know he cares. And I know that when a man like Dario cares about someone, he’ll do anything to keep them safe. He’ll be ready…”
Siena looks at me meaningfully.
She’s planning something.
Before I can tell her not to, she suddenly spins and bites down on Rocco’s gun-wielding hand.
I spring to my feet, time feeling as though it slows down. Rocco yanks his hand away and raises the gun, then he turns it to me, judging me to be the bigger threat. And he’s right.
He pulls the trigger.
Agony seeps through me, blood flowing down my side, getting my shirt wet.
He pulls the trigger again.
CHAPTER 33
SIENA
Iscream when I see the bullet tear through Dario’s shirt.
The second bullet misses and hits the wall behind him. Dario roars and tackles Rocco to the ground. He slams his hand over and over until Rocco drops the gun, then punches him in the face, blood splattering where Dario broke Rocco’s nose.