Page 60 of Malicious Claim (Dark Inheritance #1)

Dario Conti I

The car moved along streets in the beautiful Palermo city sunset, the golden light attempting to find its way through the tinted windows. Leila shivered a little in the passenger seat, the AC blasting so much cold air on her skin.

Nicolai drove using one hand, randomly flipping radio stations with the other. Static cracked. Commercials droned. Half-songs merged into each other before he finally wound up on a news station.

Horns blared outside as cars crawled. A motorcycle rider cut through traffic with a wildman's touch, passing by a delivery truck by inches. Leila leaned against the window, looking without seeing, her thoughts far away.

In her lap, the envelope rested, its corners creased from having been opened so often. She ran her thumb over the crease, then at last broke the silence.

"Who is Dario Conti, then?"

Nicolai smiled, eyes still focused on the road. "It doesn't matter. In this line of work, you do what you're instructed and ask questions later. That's the kind of loyalty Vincenzo requires."

Leila breathed deeply. She'd never liked people expecting anything from her. "I was going to do it alone. Get the kill off by myself and not involve anyone else."

Nicolai found another street, less traveled. "Circumstances have changed. Vincenzo wants me to supervise the kill personally. He wants proof. Not so much that Dario Conti is dead but evidence that you murdered him yourself."

She held the envelope tighter in her hand. "Well, it's not like I have anyone else to offer the task to."

Nicolai snorted. "Maybe not, but you're smart. Too smart in Vincenzo's mind. He doesn't want you getting clever and sharing this with someone. There are already too many loose ends."

Leila laughed out dryly. "Yeah, thanks for the flattery, but I'm not that resourceful. Speaking of loose ends—what happened to the guy in yellow? Dragon's been looking for him. He's been on my mind."

Nicolai waved a hand dismissively. "Forget it. Romani's cool. Dragon will never find him."

Leila blurted everything at once, "I simply don't get you. How did Makros murder your brother? Did he hire someone to do it? Was it an accident? What happened? And why do you act like it doesn't affect you? Why does he still trust you, knowing you could be looking for revenge?"

Nicolai's fists balled up around the steering wheel, his smirk disappeared. For a second, he didn't say anything. The radio news blared in the background, a woman reporter talking of a fire in the city.

And then, with a swift glance her way, he threw her own question back at her. "Why does he keep you around after slaughtering your family? Why marry you, knowing you could still seek revenge on him?"

Leila's muscles tensed, unsure of how to respond.

Nicolai sneered, speaking for her in the silence. "Because he's an arrogant bastard, that's why. He thinks he's above everyone else. Untouchable people don't care about revenge."

Her fingers knitted together in her lap. "And you? You think he's untouchable?"

Nicolai took slow breaths, his head shaking. "Not at all, but that doesn't make him an easy target. Do you think that I haven't fantasized about shooting him in the head? I have. That man, however, is a ghost in bulletproof. If you shoot at him and miss, you don't get a second shot."

Leila watched him closely, something unreadable flashing in her features. "So what, you just go along with it?"

He laughed a laugh that was not humorous. "No, I manage with it. There is a difference. Revenge is best served after it's forgotten."

She left that to hang for a moment, then asked, "But will he ever forget?"

Nicolai finally looked at her, his smirk returning but colder this time. "That's why patience is everything. Along the lines, Makros would make more enemies and it would be impossible to tell which one came after him. "

Leila made a mental note to be cautious of that fact. "So what, you're just waiting? Biding your time?"

His fingers drummed lazily against the steering wheel. "Something like that."

She shook her head. "You're playing a dangerous game."

Nicolai let out a low chuckle, eyes flicking to her before returning to the road. "And you're not?"

She opened her mouth to argue but shut it just as quickly. He wasn't wrong. But that didn't mean he was right either. He had no idea that she was losing interest in getting revenge all together.

Silence settled between them, broken only by the hum of the engine and the distant honking of impatient drivers.

Then Nicolai talked again, his voice lower. "He is not going to forget, Leila. Unless he develops amnesia. But that doesn't mean he won't drop his guard. See, he believes the dust has settled and it's that dust that's going to blind him."

She glared. "You think he has a blind spot?"

Nicolai nodded, his head cocking a fraction. "I think even gods bleed."

His words sent shivers down her spine. Leila's hands tightened their grip on the envelope in her lap. "How much farther?"

Nicolai did not respond right away. He took the highway off on a tiny dirt road, swinging through cypress trees that stretched above them like sentinels.

The road became bumpier as he drove further out into the rural area.

Finally, he parked the car in a clearing—a campsite, but not of the sort designed for travelers.

Bands of caravans and a pair of campers held positions elsewhere among the trees, their tired facades dissolving into the surroundings.

There were some who had improvised canopies set between them, while others had items drying on jury-rigged lines.

A pair of old vehicles were parked haphazardly, the owners nowhere in sight.

A fire pit glowed in the center of the camp, wisps of smoke curling up into the gray sky.

A group of men sat on overturned crates, talking to one another, their gazes flicking toward the car as it pulled up.

A lone dog wandered across the dirt, snuffling by scattered food alongside a dented metal trash can.

Nicolai cut the engine and spun around to her, his face unreadable. "You wanted to know how much farther." He nodded at the largest caravan, its door half-opened, light shining inside. "Dario Conti. Go and introduce yourself and say goodbye.”