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I could happily spend all day bleeding out and dismembering the various Carl Bigsbys of the world, but ultimately, it’s Sorel I want.

Getting to the monster at the top takes planning, though. It takes subtlety. It takes carefully orchestrated kills, targeting the weaker underlings in his network like Carl so I can get to the top of the pyramid. That all takes a certain finesse.

….Giant fucking vats of neon green acid, seven-story building fires, and half-smooshed bodies lying on the pavement are the goddamn opposite of finesse.

“Do you have any idea what you just fucked up?” I snap.

“What I fucked up?” Her brows furrow deeply as she glares at me with a look somewhere between amusement and excuse me. “Do you have any clue how long it took me to patch those chemical vats, mix up the acid⁠—”

“It’s sulfuric acid, you can buy it in bulk on the internet⁠—”

“Not in neon fucking green you can’t!” she snaps shrilly at me, menace glinting in her eyes.

Shit.

How the fuck did I miss someone so like me on the same goddamn campus?

“So…huh…” Bella frowns, planting her fists on her hips as she looks up at me, meeting my glare head-on and completely unflinchingly. “Damiano Barone.”

A slight grin teases her full lips.

“Wait, so are you…” She cocks a brow. “Like me?” There's almost an eagerness in her tone.

My jaw tightens. “I’m not anything like you.”

She snorts loudly. “Okay, ouch? Also, categorically false.”

I glare at her. “Trust me, Princess Psycho, we are nothing alike⁠—”

“Yeah, I’m gonna need you not to call me that,” she hisses through clenched teeth. “And I don’t know why you’re trying to fight me on this. Like, dude, were you or were you not breaking into this place tonight to murder a pedo?”

My teeth grind. “I was on a hunt tonight, trying to⁠—”

“Oh my God, potay-to, poTAH-to,” she says, rolling her eyes. “Lame answer.” Her eyes suddenly light up as she grins at me. “Oh! That’s your new name. Lamiano,” she snickers.

I roll my eyes. “Whatever. Yes, I was here tonight for Carl⁠—”

“So you are like me!”

A low, annoyed groan escapes my throat. “I don’t think you’re hearing⁠—”

“You kill people, yeah?”

I tense. Bella rolls her eyes.

“Dude, I just saw you kill Carl.”

“I didn’t⁠—”

“You one hundred percent did. Pathetic piece of shit pedo? Bound and gagged on the edge of a catwalk? Fell into a big vat of gloriously neon green acid when you crashed into him? Ringing any bells?”

My lips press to a line.

Bella shrugs. “I dunno, Lamiano. You're whining about me stealing your kill, but you’re the one who actually killed him. Seems like you got what you wanted.”

My eyes narrow. “But that was not how he was supposed to die.”

Bella mimes dramatically whipping out a pen and writes on invisible paper with a flourish.