Page 1 of Bittersweet Endings (Agostino Crime Family #6)

T he bass pulsed through the club, rattling in my ribs and stabbing me from the inside out. From my spot in the VIP section, I had the perfect view. Of him.

My ruin. My torment. My addiction.

And like a fool, I watched him. Watched his harem of whores flock to his side. Watched how he didn’t pay them much attention but didn’t push them away either.

Women draped themselves over him, their hands trailing his arms, their overfilled lips curving around flirtatious laughter. He smirked, his teeth flashing like a predator and his fingers stroking a body that wasn’t mine.

It shouldn’t have felt like someone was shoving a hand into my chest and squeezing my heart. It shouldn’t have felt like his tattooed fingers were digging into the tattered organ and ripping it from my body.

But it did. It fucking did.

Because he’d broken me. Him. Carmine. He’d managed to do it. And with a past like mine, that was a goddamn feat. There hadn’t been much left of me prior to him. Just a shell. A body that smiled and moved where she was told. And now, after him, that smile was long gone.

I swallowed against the lump clawing up my throat, my fingers tightening around the metal grip in my hand. I felt the weight of it, the power, the finality. He deserved to hurt. To feel something close to the agony he carved into my soul.

“Get the fuck out of here,” I barked.

A few heads turned, but the women around him barely noticed, too intoxicated by his presence to care about the broken woman holding the gun. So, I cocked it back and put a bullet in the chamber. When there was no reaction, I turned and pulled the trigger.

Screams tore through the air. The women scrambled back. Knocking over drinks and clutching their expensive purses as they fled. Fear painted their faces, but I wasn’t looking at them.

I was looking at him and he wasn’t afraid.

No, that bastard smirked, leaning back in his chair like it was some dumb party trick. As if he’d fucked with my head so bad I’d never be able to pull this trigger. And if I could do it, he was unbothered. Because even in death, he’d still own my soul.

The door opened and his brother stared me down from where he was standing in the hall. Deep voices barking commands behind him. The gunshot would’ve alerted every soldato in the building.

“This doesn’t concern you, Matteo. Close the door,” I demanded.

Carmine’s head dipped slightly, and Matteo nodded before slowly locking the two of us into the room alone. As soon as it clicked closed, I felt a shudder down my spine.

“Hello, little doll.” His muscular arms flexed as he lifted his drink to his lips .

Inhaling deeply, I fought my body’s natural reaction to him. My legs threatened to pin themselves to stave the fire of desire burning between my thighs. My tongue fighting the urge to run along my own lips, pretending they were licking the liquor from his.

“You wanted me alone.” He put the glass down, stretching his arms across the back of the chair, his legs spread wide. “Now, what’re you going to do with me?”

“I want to take everything from you,” I said, my voice stronger than I expected. “Like you took from me.”

“What did I take from you, little doll?”

I wanted to scream in his face. You took everything, asshole! But I didn’t. I couldn’t. And I didn’t know why.

“You were damaged goods already, so it’s not your virginity.” Don’t react. “It’s not your freedom, because once I got tired of your pussy, I gave you back.” Don’t react. “So, what is it?”

My throat burned as acid settled heavily within the tight confines of my neck. He’d taken everything from me and the bastard didn’t care. This man had been able to move on like I didn’t matter. And I was fighting myself because I didn’t want him to matter to me .

How the fuck was I supposed to get the man out of my head when he consumed every thought? The woman he’d stolen wasn’t the same he’d returned.

I wasn’t weak anymore. Instead, I was here to take from him. To take his fucking life if that was what was needed to be free of him.

Because the moment he dumped me back in New York, the Agostinos’ weakest link had broken and my family saw it. But they didn’t celebrate me; they were afraid of me. Nothing was the same and it never would be again. I didn’t know those people anymore .

And they didn’t know me either.

Maybe they never did. And because he’d given me back so freely, they didn’t trust me. They watched me like I was a ticking bomb.

“Everything. You took everything from me.” And I wanted it back. I wanted us back.

That fucking smirk simultaneously pissed me off and turned me on. Slowly, he sat forward, elbows to knees. Before he even opened those lips I wanted between my thighs, I knew I wasn’t going to like what he had to say.

“Go on, little doll,” he dared. “Make it hurt, baby .”

“Careful, Carmine.” I waved the gun in his face. “I’m the monster you created and I will pull this trigger.”

“I see that.” He stood to his full height. “And, little doll, you’ve never been sexier. Well…” He paused, tapping his mouth. “Except when you’re on your fuckin’ knees. Want to remind me how good it felt to have those lips wrapped around my cock?”

“Sure, I just so happen to have a scalpel.”

Absently, his hand went to the scar on his thigh.

“An eye for an eye, right? You shot me and I lived. But, baby ,” I mocked him, “I will shoot to kill.”

“Watch it, little doll. You might have grown longer claws but we both know how this ends.” He stepped forward, the barrel of the gun pressing against his chest as he leaned in and whispered, “You. In tears. On your way home. To daddy.” He paused.

“Well… not… this daddy.” He chuckled, the sound doing harmful things to me.

The gun dropped to my side as he disregarded me and went to the bar. Leaning over the top and snatching a bottle of Scotch. He poured it into his glass, taking a long sip as he leaned his back against the ledge and watched me. Waiting for my next move .

“Tell me I meant nothing to you. Say it. So I can end this. End you.” I flicked my hair over my shoulder. “Say it!” I shouted, my gun raised again.

The wall dropped and his face turned soft.

“Of course you meant something to me, Octavia.” My name on his lips burned.

“You’re my little doll.” And then he sneered.

“You’re batshit crazy and fuck like a porn star.

The way you clawed my back, soaked my sheets, and that tight pussy gripped my cock. I loved your crazy, baby.”

It was a rare moment of truth. About us . Reminding me our time hadn’t been all smoke and mirrors. That while I was crazy, we hadn’t been a lie. He was trying to hide it, but I could see it.

Then why did he send me home?

“Now go the fuck back to New York. Because next time I see you, I won’t miss.”

“We both know you don’t miss, Carmine. We were alone. You could’ve taken your shot at any time. So why then?”

“Still looking for a hero, little doll? This isn’t a love story, Octavia,” he scoffed.

Wiping away my traitorous tears, I steeled my spine. “I want answers, Carmine.”

“Get the fuck out of my club, you Agostino trash.”

I pointed the gun back at him. “Tell me!”

My resolve almost crumbled. The way his lips curled and reminded me how they felt between my thighs. His tongue traced his teeth, and he took a step forward.

“Oh, Octavia. This is going to be fun.” He discarded his drink and gave me his full attention. “Has my little doll forgotten all about our time together? How dirty. How depraved. How delicious. I’m going to spank that ass and then make you choke on my cock.”

Don’t let him touch you again. You won’t survive .

“Stay. Back,” I hissed.

“That’s not what you really want, little doll.

” He tucked his hands into his pockets. “Look at those pert little nipples peeking through your shirt. And the way your chest is heaving, thighs trembling. You’re seconds away from begging for my touch.

One command and you’d drop on all fours, ready to be fucked. ”

The ice in my heart cracked and splintered. He was playing with me and I couldn’t lose. If I did, it would be my death, not his. Because I wouldn’t survive him.

“Not anymore.” It came out broken. “I’ll never be yours again.”

My arm tensed as I prepared to make peace with my decision. His eyes flared and the truth of the situation settled between us. I didn’t belong to him anymore. He’d fucked up by letting me go. And this only ended with one of us dead.

Today, Octavia Agostino killed Carmine Ragetti.