Page 127 of Madness & Mercy

My voice falters.

“I got hooked on the product I was smuggling. Didn’t take long. The department found out, and next thing I knew, I was locked up.”

Nico’s jaw tightens. His nostrils flare. There’s a thick vein rising in his forehead.

“You knew my father?” he asks. Hisvoice is tight, barely above a growl.

I nod slowly, the shame thick in my throat. “Not for long. He didn’t tell me much... but he threatened me. Threatened my entire family. That was enough.”

He looks away for a moment, like he’s trying to keep himself from exploding.

“Do you know how he died?” he finally asks.

I shake my head. “No… I wish I did. I figured someone like him had a long list of enemies.”

He turns his head back toward me, his eyes darker now.

“I killed him.”

My breath catches. “What?”

“He was my first kill. Two in the chest, one in the head. I had to make sure.” His voice is emotionless, like he’s telling me about the weather.

I stare at him. “Why?”

His fists curl at his sides. There’s something trembling beneath his calm, like rage barely caged.

“He was a monster. Beat the hell out of me and my mother for years. I used to take the hits so she wouldn’t. I lived my whole childhoodprayingfor him to die. So when I got strong enough…” He shrugs. “I stopped praying. Imade it happen.”

A wave of silence crashes between us. I feel sick. Sick forhim.For what I thought I knew. For the things I assumed.

It all makes sense now… why he snapped when I mentioned Braga’s abuse. Why his voice cracked when he said,“I’ve seen what that does to people.”

He wasn’t just talking about Braga.

He was talking about himself.

I try to blink back the tears, but they come anyway, hot and fast. He doesn’t look away.

Then, softly, he asks, “How’d you get involved with Braga?”

I suck in a breath, trying to pull myself together. “Five years in prison, that’s how. I met some of Braga’s guys inside. They saw what I could do. Saw what I had become. Just a washed-up detective turned junkie with no job, no badge, no future. They offered food, protection, a place to sleep, apurpose.All I had to do was kill the men they told me to.”

He nods, slowly. Coldly.

“And Silvio Romano?”

I hesitate, then look him in the eye.

“He was my out. Said he’d pay me double what Braga paid if I took out a certain target.”

Nico doesn’t blink.

“And that target was me,” he says.

I nod. “Yeah. When I heard your name, it felt like fate. Like I was getting a second chance to balance the scale. I blamed you… for all of it. Losing my job, winding up in prison, becoming a fucking junkie. Your father was dead, and I didn’t have anyone left to aim my rage at. So I pointed it at you.”

I swallow the lump in my throat, shoulders shaking. “I watched you for years. Planned everything. How I’d get close, earn your trust. How I’d kill you.”