All of them had seen him asfamiglia.
But in exchange for their loyalty, Viktor had done the one thing none of them ever saw coming.
And because of him—-
Giancarlo was no longer with them.
Why, damn you? Why?
If this was truly Viktor she was now fighting against—-
I just want to know why!
Sarica knew it was foolish of her to lose control of her temper now of all times—
Why?
But pain and grief had already consumed her sanity, and all she wanted now was to know the truth.
How could you do that?
Her fingers tightened around the knife concealed in her sleeve, its blade laced with poison.
I'm sorry, God.
She knew she was hurting Him by letting rage take over.
She knew she was slipping away farther and farther from Him as she considered doing the unthinkable.
She knew what she was doing was wrong, but—
Help me, God.
She didn't want to kill anyone, but when she thought about how this man she was fighting against could be the same person who was responsible for Giancarlo's disappearance—
Please.
Because all she could see was red even as her heart started to bleed tears.
This is not the way to avenge me, dolcezza.
Shock blazed through Sarica's body as she heard the unmistakable sound of Giancarlo's voice whispering inside of her mind.
And even though she knew this was nothing but a hallucination—
She also knew it was God answering her prayers as her mind broke free from the chains of vengeance.
Thank You.
The knife slipped from her fingers just as her opponent's full force slammed into her, sending her crashing to the ground. The impact drove the air from her lungs, stars exploding behind her eyes. She waited for her life to end, but something rough scraped against her face instead.
A blindfold?
Her captor's touch was oddly careful—-and that worried her more than brutality would have. Was this because her face was no longer hidden? Had her opponent recognized her—-and intended to ransom Sarica back to the Marchettis?
Every instinct screamed at her to stay alert as her captor bound her hands, the restraints firm but not cruel.
She struggled to keep track of her surroundings as her captor led her to the back of a vehicle. But memories of the past three months persisted in distracting her.
