Page 8 of Die for You (Kiss or Kill #2)

O rchard Parks State Hospital is supposed to help people. But being here for five minutes has me wanting to claw my face off.

Medicated zombies roam the halls. They shuffle their slippers along the linoleum with a vacant stare on their faces. Their eyes are dead.

How is being locked away in here good for anyone?

So when the orderly unlocks the door and I see a woman restrained to a single bed, I realize that this place isn’t good.

I enter, and when the door slams shut behind me, I take that as Margarette is not a threat. But of course, she isn’t. She’s tied to the bed with no place to go.

I instantly feel pity.

Regardless of her sins, no one deserves to be treated this way, shackled to the bed like a neglected dog. Seeing her this way only fuels my hatred for Gianna. It’s because of her that Margarette is here.

She doesn’t move, and if not for the shallow rise and fall of her chest, I would think she’s dead. I approach the bed. She still doesn’t stir.

I didn’t prepare a speech. I just knew I needed to come here and ask questions.

However, looking at Margarette’s comatose state, I doubt I will be getting any answers.

“Hi, Margarette. My name is Lennon. I was an orphan at Saint Maria’s. I know your friend, Gianna Ricci.”

Bingo…

A slight flicker of her eyelids reveals she heard me, and I’ve struck a nerve.

I pull up a chair and sit by her bedside.

Margarette is the only person who has damning evidence against Gianna. She is the only person who can help me save Valentina.

However, she may well be in a coma.

“I don’t care about your past. All I care about is saving the girl who came to see you. Her name is Valentina, and she is Gianna’s daughter.”

No recognition, but I know she can hear me.

“Gianna lied to Valentina, claiming you were her mother. That’s why I’m assuming she was livid when she came to see you. I need your help. I need you to tell me the truth. I need to know who Gianna was and why she would do such a thing.

“Was she your friend?”

Margarette stares vacantly at the ceiling.

I must get through to her. Leaving here without answers is not acceptable. But how do you get through to someone who looks more dead than alive?

I suddenly realize there is only one way: the way that connects us and makes us human.

Love…

“Regardless of what he did, you really loved him, didn’t you?”

The silence is deafening as I wait for some kind of response.

“Valentina believes him to be her father, and you, her mother. Can you imagine what that does to a kid who believes her father was a serial killer and her mother a nun who fell in love with him?

“She believes you abandoned her on the steps of the orphanage. Help me show her that she is worthy. That she is someone worth saving.

“Because like you, I will do anything for the person I love.

“Please, please help me save her.” It’s my final plea.

I wait for some kind of revelation, that perhaps life will cut me some slack.

But Margarette remains still.

I hang my head low and grip my hair in frustration. I thought this would help convince Valentina who Gianna really is.

But now, I—

That thought never comes to fruition because if I believed in miracles, this would be one.

I snap my head up when a hoarse groan leaves Margarette. She is looking at me, like really looking, her eyes begging I hear her because I don’t think many have.

Jumping up, I lower my ear to her mouth as I don’t want to miss a thing. All I hear, though, is jumbled gibberish.

“I don’t understand,” I say, pulling back, beseeching her to try harder.

Her mouth gapes open and closed like a fish out of water, and it’s only then do I comprehend why she can’t speak.

She has no fucking tongue. A tiny stub is where it once was.

“Did Gianna do this to you?” I probe, seeing as the only way to communicate is for me to ask the questions.

She nods slowly, tears filling her empty eyes.

“I’m so fucking sorry. But I’m going to make this right. I’m going to get you out of here.”

She begins screeching and thrashing on the bed. The orderlies come running into the room, syringe in hand.

This is far worse than I thought.

Margarette knows Gianna’s secrets, which is why Gianna took her tongue. Another person falling victim to that fucking bitch.

The need to destroy her is stronger than ever, and I finally have the proof. Margarette, coupled with Aldo’s laptop, has all the evidence I need to show Valentina who Gianna really is.

Valentina can’t come back to America, which means I have to go to her.

Bon voyage…

I need to get my affairs in order so I can fly to Sicily in two days. Impulsive, I know, but this shit show won’t get any better. I don’t have a game plan as such, but all I know is that I need to present Valentina with the damning evidence and hope she finally sees the truth.

She is the link to end this feud once and for all.

The question is, what happens if it does end? Do I want to be in control? Aldo’s business won’t stop just because I do, which means the responsibility falls to Bria. She is more than capable of ruling, but a part of me doesn’t want to give this up.

I finally feel like I have a purpose in life.

An honest, law-abiding life was never on the cards for me. So in a sense, I feel as if this opportunity is my destiny. It also gives me the power I need to ensure I end Gianna’s reign, as well as her life.

A donkey enters Aldo’s former office, which is now mine.

I look at him, wondering what the fuck he wants.

“I did knock,” he says, reading my annoyance.

“What do you want?”

He closes the door behind him.

He knows better than to sit unless invited to. “Alfonso is a rat.”

And this is one of the things I like about Donkey. He doesn’t believe in sugarcoating.

When I asked him to compile all the data on my men, he did so within three days. We were able to dispose of a handful of traitors, thanks to his meticulous research skills. It seems Alfonso didn’t get the message when I stated disloyalty will not be tolerated.

“How?”

“He’s a scout for Gianna.”

I curl my palm into a fist on the desk. “What has he done?”

“He has informed her of our latest shipment of crystals arriving at the docks tonight. Word on the street is that she is planning an ambush to steal our cargo. She’s also trying to turn our suppliers against us, saying that a boy rules where a man should.”

A laugh escapes me. “Let her see what this boy can do, then.”

Donkey nods. “How many men do we need?”

“Five.”

He arches a brow, but doesn’t contest the small number I’ve requested.

“And ensure Alfonso is one of them.”

Donkey doesn’t dally and leaves me alone to digest this news. It shouldn’t surprise me that Gianna has infiltrated my team. But she’s done me a favor. She has helped weed out the deceitful weaklings who will suffer for their choices.

A dishonest man is someone you cannot trust because loyalty is everything. Even if I’m forced to start from scratch, I would rather a small, loyal group of men than a large posse of traitorous cowards.

Tonight, Alfonso will be made an example of.

Gianna will be there tonight as this is her first attack, and she will want to see how I respond. But she doesn’t realize I now know her secrets, which will be the end of her.

Once tonight is done with, I intend to fly to Italy and bring Valentina home—kicking and screaming if I must.

And I really hope that she does…

I’ve left Bria at home, much to her disgust.

But someone needs to be there in case Gianna decides to change things up and attack when she knows I won’t be home. She is cunning and smart. I would be foolish to underestimate her. I must bide my time.

But flying to Italy has left me with the dilemma of who I can trust this empire with. Bria can’t do it on her own, which is why Lewis sits beside me. This isn’t ideal, but my brother has wasted enough time. Yes, the hand he was dealt sucked, but now, it’s time to reclaim his life and start living.

I don’t know if this is the right step, though, because an ex-junkie around drugs is probably the worst way to test his resilience, especially since it’s still early days.

But I’ve decided to throw him into the deep end and see if he can swim.

Even though we’re blood, we’re merely strangers. He’s broken, and I’ll do everything in my power to help him heal.

Conversation is nonexistent between us.

I don’t know what I was expecting, but I thought he would be happy to get off the streets. But as he stares vacantly out the window, I wonder if maybe he’s too far gone.

Regardless, I won’t give up on him. My baby brother is inside there somewhere, and I will find him. For now, we have to reconnect and build trust.

I park the car close to the docks and kill the engine, but I don’t get out. I scope out my surroundings, looking for anything out of place.

The warehouses seem eerily quiet. Most are likely a ruse, just like Aldo’s store.

Because who would suspect a shop selling crystals and fucking lavender incense would be anything but a haven for people who dance around a bonfire during a full moon while charging their crystals and manifesting world peace?

It’s actually genius on Aldo’s behalf.

Thanks to Gianna, this is another thing I must take care of before I leave for Italy.

Peering over at Lewis, I realize I just found his first job. “What do you know about crystals?”

I hate that it appears he’s in a constant, disjointed state. It’s like I need to repeat myself after everything I say because he wasn’t listening the first time I said it.

He slowly turns his cheek to look at me.

It still pains me to see him so gaunt and so…ghostlike. It’s like this person wears my brother’s face, but he’s nothing but a stranger.

“Meth?” he asks.

I clench the steering wheel, refraining from acting on instinct to reach out and slap him. “That shit is your past, all right? Leave your habits there. This is your life now, away from that.”

Lewis shrugs, such a noncommittal gesture. “You haven’t changed.”

“What the fuck does that mean?”