Ciccone pulls off his mask once more. “The last time…I spoke to Victoria…she made me realize…all the wrong I’ve done…to you and your family.” He gasps for air, but continues on. “I’m…sorry, Arlo.”
The words I’ve been waiting my entire life to hear have finally been said. But I don’t feel anything. My cold, black soul has been too hardened with the reality and cruelties of this world. “Apologizing won’t bring any of them back,” I tell him with clenched fists at my sides.
He nods emphatically. “I know that.” He scribbles something on a piece of paper and passes it across the desk.
I take a step forward and take it. Unfolding the paper, I stare at the name he scrawled, trying to make sense of it. It takes a few seconds before it finally clicks. This is the man he sold my sister to.
“Find Sara,” Ciccone tells me. “And find Victoria.”
“How do you propose I do all of this?” I ask incredulously. I don’t have the power like he does.Heshould be the one finding Victoria.
“I want you…to run…my empire.”
That earns a reaction from Alessandro. “You can’t mean that, Giorgio!” he exclaims, standing up quickly.
Obviously, Alessandro was figuring on running things after Ciccone kicked the bucket. I have to hold back a chuckle as I watch the two older men argue back and forth.
“The decision has been made!” Ciccone finally shouts, slamming his hand down on his desk.
Alessandro throws his hands up in the air and then takes his seat once more, shaking his head in disbelief.
Baz looks to me and says, “You’ve got everything you wanted, my friend.” He inclines his head towards the piece of paper in my hand.
Baz is right. I have everything I want, except for two things — Victoria…and my revenge.
Reaching under my jacket, I pull out my Glock and aim it towards Alessandro. He doesn’t even have a chance to speak before his brains are plastered against the tall shelves of books behind him and there’s a gaping, bloody hole where his right eye used to be.
Then, I turn my gun on Ciccone. The old man looks resigned to his death, and it almost pisses me off. I wanted him to suffer greatly, but I’m running out of time.
“Promise me…you’ll take care…of Victoria,” he gasps.
“You have my word,” I tell him.
Ciccone closes his eyes, and I put a bullet between them, just like I always promised myself I would.
When his body falls backwards onto the floor from the impact, I stand there, making sure the devil himself doesn’t come back to life…again. Then, I slowly lower my gun. My panting breaths fill the room.
Baz places a hand on my shoulder, jolting me back to reality. “Easy, my friend,” he soothes me.
The sound of footsteps running up the stairs draws my attention to the door of Ciccone’s office.
No, not his.
It’smyfucking office now.
“What should we do if anyone tries to overthrow the new king of the Italian mob?” Baz asks from beside me.
“We’ll kill every last one of them.”
“Good choice, my friend,” Baz says before unholstering his gun and pointing it towards the door.
CHAPTER 10
DAMON
TAKING OVER CICCONE’S empire was no easy task. Once Baz and I took down a dozen or so of Ciccone’s most loyal thugs, the rest reluctantly began to fall in line. By the end of the day, we were covered in the blood of our enemies and respected by our new underlings.
With Ciccone now gone and a new boss in his place, I gave my newly appointed men the order that finding Victoria was our top priority.
