But Ezio is only trying to shake me up, and I can’t let him do that right now.
“What do you want,Romano?” I ask, pushing hard at his shoulders.
He doesn’t budge at all. “I want to see everybody burn.” Ezio raises his fist.
I manage to get my arms up in time to block him. He’s stronger than I expected, and I know my arms will be bruised tomorrow.
“By the way, wheredidyou leave the fire starting equipment?” Ezio taunts.
“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” I repeat.
I don’t hear much chatter over the mics, or maybe it’s too loud to hear it—or we’re all too focused on our own individual problems.
Ezio Romano had not been one of the problems we’d anticipated, which is another mark against our plans. Fuck.
With my back against the wall, I can at least ensure that no one can come up from behind me. I go for a jab against Ezio’s gut, but he blocks me at the last second.
I don’t know what kind of training he has, so I can’t anticipate where his strengths and weaknesses might be.
“I can’t believe how lucky I got.” Ezio steps back just enough towind up another punch. “All four Pavone children in one fucking building.”
It’s too hard to dodge with the crowd pressing in from all directions, though some of them start to step back when they see a fight breaking out. I block him again, grimacing at the force of his punch. “You’re not getting near them,” I growl, pressing forward.
“We can end the Pavone line right here.” Ezio leans back, and I use that opportunity to drive my elbow into his chest.
He stumbles, which is all I need to get away from the wall.
“We can end the Bouchards, too,” Ezio says with a laugh. “They already killed your father. Why keep fighting for them? They don’t care about you. You’re nothing but cannon fodder to them.”
Not to Blaze.
I might be expendable to George Bouchard, but never to Blaze.
Never to Pandora, either.
Both of themneedme.
But there’s a trickle of doubt somewhere inside of me, and I can’t quite fight it completely back. It doesn’t matter. Right now isn’t the time to dwell on it. I have to get away from Ezio, find Blaze, take care of George Bouchard, then somehow get to Pandora and River.
It’s so much.
Reaper and Fenrir are out there, too, and I have to hope they fulfill their roles because I can’t be everywhere at once. I can’t even be where I’m supposed to be as it is, all because Ezio Romano is keeping me from it.
“Get. Out. Of. My. Way.” I grab him by both shoulders and step in close, then bring my knee up into his groin.
Ezio hunches over in pain, but then he grabs my knee and pushes me back. I stumble into a person standing behind me.
It’s almost impossible to fight like this, in the dark, with flickering from people’s phone flashlights and the large screens illuminating only the outlines of his form.
All the shouting and yelling mask any sounds Ezio might make.
Bodies crowd too close for me to make any sweeping moves.
“I’m going to kill them all,” Ezio growls at me. “Pavones, Bouchards, every single one of these fucking monsters who thinks they can destroy lives on a fuckingwhim.”
Not if I kill him first.
The thought should be enough to give me pause. Oh, I’ve beaten someone up for Blaze before, and I’ve had murderous thoughts, but I’ve never had murderousintent. Where Ezio is concerned, though? If he wants Pandora and Blaze dead, he’s going to have to go through me, and I have no intention of making myself an easy target.
