Page 64 of A Murder of Crows

The pain crosses his face. “Shut up.”

“I’m not afraid to die,” I force out through my aching throat. “None of us expect to live long lives. But killing me will not bringherback. It will only start another circle of war, Gio, and you will loseeverything. If you would just recon—”

“I have already lost everything!”

His roar makes me step back; the bellow so full of agony that I wonder how the fuck he’s still walking around. “You have no fucking idea what you’ve done. You and your poisonous fucking family have ripped mine apart, and I will not stop until you are all dead, Caterina. You and thatcuntof a cousin that dares to call himself a man.”

His chest heaves, up and down, and a flicker of fear appears in my stomach. The rules don’t matter, right now. There are no rules.

He will kill me, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to stop him. Not sure even Domenico would be able to stop him.

But I have to try, as I hold my hand up.

“You still have a sister,” I breathe.

And he goes still. His entire body locks up, so tight that I don’t think he’s even breathing.

“What. Did. You. Say.”

“I have orders,” I say quietly, meeting his searing gaze. “To use Rosa and make you submit, Gio.”

I can see his hands shaking. “You’re not touching my fucking sister, you bitch.”

He’s not listening. The man I knew would have read between the lines, understood the subtext. But I don’t knowthisversion of Giovanni Fusco.

Or maybe I never knew him at all.

“Listen to me, damn you!” My voice rises. “As of an hour ago, I have access to all the Fusco bank accounts, Gio. Every single one. All of the money – every fucking penny of it.”

My words make him pause. “You just won’t fucking stop, will you?”

And he sounds so damn tired that the pity threatens to shred my chest. But I hold firm.

“Call off theil bacio della morte. In return, I swear that I will not touch a hair on your sister’s head, nor will I touch your accounts. If you call it off, and lay low for a while – that includes not pissing off my father. Don’t force my fucking hand on this, Giovanni.”

I take a breath. “I don’t want to be here,” I say finally. “Any more than you do.”

His hands open and close in jerky motions. “You will not harm my sister.”

“You have my word,” I whisper. “I swear it, Gio. But you need to back down, and you need to do itnow. Because I am running out of time to fix this.”

His laugh is the saddest thing I’ve ever heard. “There is nofixingthis.”

I close my eyes briefly. “No. That was… it was a stupid choice of words. But tell me you agree, Gio.”

Stiff, angry, his nod is a movement of his head, but henods. “Fine. I’m not there this evening, I’ll let my men know and announce it formally at breakfast tomorrow. But if youeverrescind your word, if my sister is harmed in any way, I’ll kill you myself.”

I nearly sway in relief. “Agreed.”

As he turns and walks away, it feels like the world is holding its breath. I wait for the punchline.

But as Giovanni disappears from view, nothing happens.

Footsteps sound behind me, and I spin. Domenico moves slowly, but he’s grinning.

“Cat,” he says, almost disbelievingly. “It’s done. You did it.”

I clear my throat. “I guess so.”