Anger ignited through me, and I lurched forward, grabbing the front of Ricci’s blood-stained shirt. “You fucking brainwashed her! Does she know what you did to ourrealfather?!”
Ricci cackled. “Face it, Evelyn, you will never get rid of me. You can torture me or kill me but at the end of the day, you have no idea the magnitude of my power.” He emphasized the last few words. “But Sarah will show you... All in good time.” He leaned back into his chair as I let go of his shirt. “Now, this was a lovely chat, but I’d like to speak to the traitor.”
FIFTY-THREE
KADE
I gritted my teeth as I watched Evelyn scream at Ricci. I didn’t want her near him at all.
I shuddered. My skin felt like spiders were crawling all over. The sense of losing control of my surroundings was starting to eat at me. Word had spread about the attack at the auction and it would be only a matter of time before men like Miguel Stefanos found out about my involvement.
So far, my name had stayed out of the wrong people’s mouths, but I knew I was on borrowed time. The arrangement between Ricci and Stefanos was going to be a problem. I just hoped by the time he figured out what happened to Ricci and his shipments I had alliances to help back me.
Evelyn looked at the two-way mirror and crooked her finger to signal that I was needed. As soon as I walked through the threshold, Ricci let out a dry laugh. “Ha! There he is! The man of the hour!”
Evelyn stepped out of the way as I took her place in front of him.
“What the fuck do you want, Butcher?”
Ricci gave me a sinister smile. “I just wantedto look you in the eye when I told you to watch your back. My friends will be looking for me and my shipments.”
I arched an eyebrow. “And this has to do with me because?”
Ricci tilted his head. “Who do you think they are going to come after when they learn of your involvement in interfering with Cartel?” I held my composure as he spoke, crossing my arms and pursing my lips briefly. “And how do you think they are going to find out? Huh?”
I wrapped my hand around Ricci’s throat. “Your protégé is in hiding. But don’t worry, I plan on finding her and terminating anyone who had a vested interest in your shipments.”
A flicker of worry crossed Ricci’s features before he resorted back to his cool demeanor.
I refused to look at Evelyn at the mention of her sister. Even though it was clear that Sarah had gone to the dark side, I knew there would be a part of her that would want to save her.
I let go of his throat before Ricci began to cough in his attempts to get air back into his lungs. “Your father would be ashamed of you,” Ricci choked out.
I let out a laugh. “Here’s the thing, I don’t give a flying fuck what my old man would think. He was a fool for getting into bed with you. I am just cleaning up his mess and taking out the trash.”
As I turned around, I met Evelyn’s hazel eyes. “Let me know when it’s time to take out the trash.”
A small smirk crossed her lips, letting me know she took pleasure in ending Ricci.
As I walked out of the room, Ricci yelled out once more. “I’ll see you in hell, Ghost!” The slam of the door behind me echoed in the hallway before the gunshot rang out.
FIFTY-FOUR
EVELYN
I’d had enough talking. Ricci was a piece of shit and trying to get anything out of him would get us nowhere. Quickly I glanced over at Badger then grabbed the handgun out of its holster at the waistband of my cargo pants and aimed it at Ricci’s chest.
“Oh, this is comical.” Ricci laughed. “There’s no way you have the stomach to shoot me. What was it your mother always said?” He paused and looked up as if he were deep in thought. “Oh, that’s right, ‘stay in the shadows.’ So why don’t you go and do that? Eh?”
Before he could continue, I pulled the trigger. The sound of the shot echoed in the small room as the bullet landed right through his trachea. His body jerked from the impact. Ricci began choking as blood flooded the bullet wound. “I’m done listening to you run your mouth. That’s for my mother!” I screamed.
I whipped out my knife that was sheathed inside my waistline and stabbed him in the stomach. “And this,” I pushed the knife further into Ricci’s abdomen, “is for Aaron.”
I removed the knife and wiped the blood-covered blade on my pants. Stepping to the side, I let Badger give the final blow. She aimed her gun and fired. The fatal shot hit his heart. “And that is for Lily. And anyone who has been hurt by or because of you.” Smoke filtered out the barrel of the gun as she slowly lowered her arm to her side.
And just like that, Anthony Ricci was dead.
I thought I would feel some sort of sense of closure with Ricci dead. Instead, I was met with numbness. Badger didn’t say a word before leaving the room. I stood staring at Ricci’s lifeless body and continued to do so as Chief, Buddha, Machine, and Kade worked on clean-up.
