I look at Charlotte hugging her mother tight, and I grit my teeth.
It never occurred to me that the one I’d have to protect her from was her maniacal father.
The door creaks open again, and Carl Montrose barrels in, holding up two highball glasses of something amber-colored. He takes a sip from one and winks at Charles. “It’s time to make the announcement.” He shoots the liquid from both and slams the glasses down on a heavy wooden credenza.
“Jesus Christ,” Charles mutters. “Is it always about you, Carl? You and your good fucking time? Haven’t you done enough to derail our plans? It’s bad enough you can’t keep your dick in your pants and you put the whole operation at risk when you showed up in that club! You and your dipshit son have done enough to fuck up this operation!”
The pounding between my temples is so loud, I almost miss his caustic words. My eyes flicker over to Phoenix and I follow his gaze to the knife still peeking out of his shirt cuff. His gaze urges me to be patient for a second longer, but I don’t know how many seconds we have left.
And judging from the tone of Charles’s voice, I don’t think Carl has many left, either.
Carl’s face relaxes into a smile. “My dipshit son and I did exactly what we were instructed to do.”
Charles opens his mouth to no doubt spew a vicious remark until a brief flicker of confusion masks his otherwise angry expression and stops the words before they tumble from his lips. “What the hell are you talking about?” The gun in his hand falters slightly and my eyes widen at Phoenix.
“You know,” Moretti says. “There’s one thing that means more to me than anything else, Charles. Do you know what that is?”
“Money?” Charles growls.
Moretti walks toward him, shaking his head. “No. Family.” He looks past Charles at Cammy and Charlotte huddled in the corner. “A long time ago, I thought you’d be the perfect partner. You had money, balls, and connections. You were a guy who could get shit done.” He shakes his head. “But then you made a sacrifice of the worst kind. Your own flesh and blood. You killed him because you chose what you love most — money.”
“What is he talking about?” Cammy screeches, running over to Charles and clawing at his arm. “What does this have to do with Andrew?”
“It was you!” Charlotte shouts from the corner. “You killed Andrew! And then you tried to kill me!” Before I can reach out a hand to grab her, she takes off at full speed, launching herself at Rossi, digging her long fingernails into his neck. He stumbles backward, off-guard and off-balance, his foot catching on a tattered corner of an area rug. He collapses on the floor in a heap, the gun clattering to the hardwood floor a few inches away.
Rossi struggles against her, but she pounds her fists against his massive body, slicing away at his scar and scratching every other exposed inch of skin. “You bastard! You did this!”
“Enough!” Moretti frowns at Charles. “I knew then that you wouldn’t win the game. It was a test, and you failed. I knew where your loyalties lay when you made that choice and had your wife’s appointment mysteriously run late.”
Carl pulls a panting Charlotte off of Rossi and pushes her against Phoenix.
“No, no, no,” Cammy whimpers, covering her face. “Please tell me it’s not true! My baby!” She looks at Charles, a murderous glare in her eyes. “You did this to us! You made me believe it was my fault and you took away my baby! You killed our son!” She grabs for the gun in his hand and he shoves her into a wall. A framed painting shudders against the force, glass shattering as it hits the ground.
“I did what I had to do,” Charles growls. “To keep what we owned! To protect what I built!”
“That’s all you care about!” Cammy shrieks. “Your fucking money! Your status! Your goddamn toys!”
He shoves the gun between her eyes. “Yeah, and you’re just one more liability,” he seethes. “It should have been you! You should be the one lying in the goddamn ground!” His face turns bright red, his jaw twitching. “No more stupid mistakes!”
Bang! Crack!
“Ahh!” Charles falls into a nearby table, blood gushing from the side of his leg. Just enough of a distraction to get him away from Cammy.
“It’s like they said, Charles,” I say through clenched