didn’t know him, you’d think he was completely unaffected. But I know him, and he’s fucking pissed.
“It’s the fucking rat your boy didn’t fucking kill like he was supposed to.”
“You know that’s not what the deal was,” Vince says as though he’s on my side, but I know he’s not. All this is my fault. I brought this onto my familia. I put us all in danger for her. Simply because I wanted her. I wanted to break something so beautiful. And I did. And now I have to take my punishment. I hope I fucking die today. I’ll never forgive myself if I see her die though. I've watched death all around me my entire life, and it’s never affected me. Not since my mother. But I can’t today. Not her. Not my Catherine.
I walk toward the men and a few take a step back, but Marcus and Lorenzo hold their ground. “I bought her fair and square.” I say the words like I’m not ready to rip them apart. Like this isn’t war. Like this is just a business meeting over terms.
I hear the rest of my familia walk in behind us. A few guns cock. The clicks fill the air. Marcus’ eyes turn hard. He tried to set us up, but the dumb fuck wasn’t ready for an even match. The doors behind the Cassanos open and more of our crew walk in, guns loaded and ready. We have on our vests; I’m sure the Cassanos do as well, but this is nowhere near an even match. They’re fucking dead.
“You really wanna do this, Vince?” Marcus sneers at my boss behind me. My eyes are locked on Lorenzo’s. My hand’s on my gun.
“You brought this on yourself. You wanted to put on a show,” Vince says as he reaches for his gun, but keeps it pointed at the ground.
“What’d you think was gonna happen?” he asks. Silence fills the air and the men line up on both sides. We’re in the middle. Vince is by my side, and my kitten on the floor just a few feet away from me. Everyone’s armed but her. My eyes dart to hers and I can see she’s already accepted it. She’s gonna be the first to die.
I can’t let it happen. I can’t.
A few men start moving around. They’re lining up. Some of the Cassanos start looking behind them, but most are going to be gunning for us. It doesn’t matter either way, they’re all going to die. The only thing they can do is try to take out a few of us first. I can’t let that happen. I have to do something. She can't die, and our men can’t go down because of my mistakes.
“Give her back, and we’ll go away.” I say the words and hate the weakness in my voice. I also hate that Vince is looking at me like I’ve lost my damn mind. He’s ready for a fight. No one takes us on like this and makes fools of us. I know he won’t stand for it. But I have to try. I’d beg them for her. I’d trade places with her if I could.
“It’s not happening, Anthony. Not after you betrayed us.” Marcus’ voice rings out with clarity. He’s firm in his decision.
“Take me instead then. Take me and it’s over.” Vince still hasn’t said anything. I hear Tommy yell out from behind me. But Vince holds up his hand and silences him.
“Your gun,” Marcus says loud enough for everyone to hear. I don’t hesitate to lower myself, place my gun on the ground, and kick it away.
As I stand up, the fucking prick in front of me, Lorenzo, shrugs his shoulders and raises his gun at me. Every man in the room raises their weapon but me. I’ll make the trade. I’ll do it for her.
Catherine looks up with wide eyes and shakes her head. As the reality presses down on her, she does the stupidest fucking thing I can think of. She jolts upright and grabs the gun. She yanks it out of Lorenzo’s hand. It falls to the floor with a loud clack and goes off. The room fills with the sounds of bullets.
“Fucking bitch,” Lorenzo yells out and reaches for the gun. A bullet flies past me, but my eyes are on his gun. He’s going to get it first. I see it happening in slow motion. I run to her and cover her small body as the sounds