Mafia love

I didn’t think, and since we’d never actually fought like this, I’d never been able to assess his fighting skills.

Victor launched himself into the air with the grace of a dancer and the sharpness of a sword fighter. He whipped the sword across me and knocked the gun out of my hand.

I reached for my other gun, but he sent a roundhouse kick straight to my chest and knocked me flying.

Back on the ground, I winced and got up quickly. Victor looked scrawny and like he couldn’t do much in a fight, but that was his advantage. He clearly had skill.

“So, I should let you know that I embued my beloved swords with viper venom. One nick, and you’re dead. D.E.A.D. Ha ha ha.”

Fuck. This just kept getting better and better.

This guy was a prick and a fucking half. He smiled on seeing my temporary stupor. I was going to have to really focus. A bullet in my arm didn’t exactly help.

He came at me, but I dodged him. One more time, and I rolled to the left, closer to where I’d dropped my gun. No way was he just going to allow me to get it though.

The ferocious look on his face told me so.

I moved swiftly, fast, quickly, dodging his blows.

Swerving around him, I managed to land a kick in his back, sending him down to his knees. I took the opportunity to kick him down the stairs, and he dropped the sword.

Good, finally.

I launched myself down at him before he could recover and knocked him further back. The minute we made contact, the punches began.

Fist for fist, blow for blow. I was surprised he could take a guy like me.

The asshole also had an ace up his sleeve.

He pulled a pocket knife from the pocket in his sleeve and dug it into the bullet wound on my shoulder. It was so painful I cried out from it and saw stars again.

That gave him the upper hand, and he managed to get on top of me and pin me down.

He pulled the knife out and held it to my face.

“I should cut your face off and eat it. I think I’d love to display it on the front of my car though. Like a flag. On your cheek I’d write idiot.”

“Fuck you.” I tried to headbutt him, but he sliced across my cheek.

“You have the diamonds, don’t you?” he sang.

I did. I had them in my jacket pocket. They’d stayed there, safe.

He went to move away my jacket, but I caught his hand and crushed it.

That made him madder. He stuck the knife in again. Right into my wound.

The damn wound was throwing me off my game. I should have been able to take him down easily, but then I realized why I was thrown. My arm felt numb, and suddenly, I couldn’t feel the pain anymore. Or my arm.

Fucking bastard.

“Ahhhh, it’s working. That arm of yours won’t be any good to you for at least half an hour.

“What did you give me.”

“Do you like it? I’m going to give you some more. I give it to all my meals that I keep alive as I eat them. Amelia’s go

I growled at him and moved my good arm, punching him hard. He punched back, and damn it, we both went tumbling down the next rung of steps. Without my arm it made it difficult to control myself.

I hit my head hard on the edge of the last step. That actually made me feel sick.

Again, Victor seized the opportunity and came at me. He pi

But I had to.

I had to save Amelia. I had to save my girl.

Once again and for the second time today, I thought of how much I loved her. Both times were just before I thought death had come for me.

Victor pulled a gun from his back pocket and pulled the trigger.

“Time for you to go, boss,” Victor taunted. “Time to—”

A gunshot sounded. I gasped when I saw the damn thing go through Victor’s chest and wiz past my head.

Victor sucked in a breath and grabbed his chest.

“Blood. I actually have blood, and it’s red. My mother told me that devil children had blood like tar. She lied, like with everything else.” Another shot ripped into his chest, and blood splashed all over my face. When Victor skittered back, howling in pain, I saw Claudius coming down the stairs, gun in hand.

“The first one was for Henry, the second for Lydia.” Claudius bellowed and shot him two more times. “That was for Jack and Susa

I was surprised Victor was still alive.

“Revenge.” Victor gurgled blood and slumped against the railing on the stairs.

Claudius shot him again in the stomach. “That is for taking Amelia and Gigi and for all the shit you’ve dealt over the last few weeks.”

Victor opened his mouth, but no words came out.

To my surprise, Claudius reached behind him and pulled out Victor’s sword he’d dropped upstairs.

Victor’s eyes went wide when Claudius raised it.

“This is for my brother. Fuck you for screwing with him!” Claudius swung the sword in a wide arc, hacking off Victor’s head.

All I could do was stare.

All I could do was look at the dismembered body of Victor and his head as it dropped down the stairs. Grotesque.

Claudius looked at me. “No more blood on your hands, brother, and not for him. Clean start for you. Justice is served. Now let’s go find Amelia.”

He reached out his hand to help me get up.

I looked back to Victor’s body, closing that chapter of him in my mind and my life.

On to the next mission.

CHAPTER 18

Amelia

A gentle breeze caressed my cheeks.

I looked ahead, through the doors to the sunroom, and saw her.

Mom.

My heart danced with the elation of seeing her. She walked around the garden in that beautiful red dress that made her look like a beautiful blast from the forties.

The suave curl of her hair and her cherry red lips carried off the look.

“Mom,” I called out to her, but she didn’t hear me.

I called out again, getting closer, and she stopped smelling the long-stemmed English roses and turned to face me.

She really did look just like me. Or rather, I looked like her, except I had Dad’s brown eyes.

She had bright blue eyes, almost like Luc, but his were almost turquoise.

She hugged me hard and stepped back to look me over.

“My dear girl, where have you been? Di

Di