Page 81 of Dangerous Intent

Marchello rested his hand on the small of my back, reminding me he was there, lulling me into a safe place to get out all of the things I couldn’t say to my father.

“My father would have rather given me to a man like Collins than see me happy with Marchello. I begged him for his help when I called him to come and get me from the safe house, but he didn’t come.” I moved closer to Angelo. “I went to him and asked him for a truce, and you know what he did? He signed off on an auction, giving Collins permission to fucking sell me like a piece of property to a man he didn’t even know.”

Bile burned my throat, but I pushed it down. Tears stung my eyes, but they wouldn’t fall. I wouldn’t allow one more tear in the name of my father.

“Does that sound like a man who wasn’t responsible for his death?” I asked. “I was his daughter. I deserved better.”

“You deserved nothing!” Angelo got in my face, but Marchello elbowed him away from me. “But you got more than you bargained for, and when the actions of your choices come back with a vengeance, no one will be able to protect you. Not even your husband, because he has no idea who is coming for you and the Accettis.”

“I am anAccetti.” I clenched my jaw. “More than I ever was a Gallanti.”

“Your father knew that. That’s why he allowed you to be sold like the whore that you are.” He spat his hot saliva in my face. “You’re a disgrace to your family and its legacy.”

As I wiped his disgusting gob from my face, Marchello propelled his fist forward, knocking Angelo to the ground.

“A man can tolerate many things.” Marchello’s foot connected with Angelo’s ribs with enough force to crack them. “But if you disrespect his wife, any hope of forgiveness or negotiations are off the table. You’re a dead man.”

Milo hoisted Angelo to his unsteady feet. “If you have anything to say, now would be the time.”

“You can’t take me out.” Angelo’s voice held defeat. “There are rules.”

“My father is still in control,” Marchello said. “I know the rules.”

“That still doesn’t give you the right to take down another family’s capo.” Angelo struggled to get a full breath. “The order has to come from Nico.”

“How can you be Gian’s second when he’s no longer alive to give you orders?” Marchello tightened his hold on the gun. “The ironic thing is, I’m a second too, and my boss is still alive to give me the order you so desperately think I don’t have.”

“What?” Angelo shook his head. “Nico is off-the-grid.”

“Not to me.” Marchello smirked. “He gave me the order about an hour ago.”

“Too bad for you.” Milo gripped Angelo’s shoulder and shoved him down, forcing him to his knees.

“You may view my tactics as weak,” Marchello said. “But I wanted to give you the opportunity to purge your rotten soul before I pulled the trigger.”

“No!” Angelo held up his hand as Marchello pushed the gun inside Angelo’s mouth.

“Did you know when the gun is pressed on an exact location on the roof of a person’s mouth, the bullet will do the most damage with such precision.”

Angelo pleaded with me with a wild, wide-eyed expression, but I didn’t feel any remorse. He made his choices and wanted to stick by them until the end.

“Say hello to my father for me.” I glared into his soulless eyes.

When I rushed out of the back of the basement, my legs couldn’t carry me as fast as I wanted. The resounding blast stopped me as I clutched the banister at the bottom of the staircase.

Paralyzed from the sound and stunned by the reality of what had just happened six feet from me, I gasped before sitting on the bottom step.

Three guys from upstairs hurried down and carefully stepped around me as Marchello came out of the basement. He whispered something to them before joining me.

“Are you okay?” He extended his hand for me and pulled me into a standing position. “I can take you home now.”

“Just like that?” I shrugged.

“I don’t know what you want me to say.”

I ran my finger along the red marks splattered on the collar of his shirt, tracing it to the spray of blood across his neck.

“I don’t know if you’ll ever be able to look at me the same way again,” he said.