Page 96 of Possess Me

He wasn’t expecting the brutal hit from my weapon against his leg injury. That took the wind from his sails. As he panted from pain, I ripped off his mask, dragging him toward the side table and flicking on the lamp.

As I peered down at the chump, the fucker actually grinned.

“Who are you working for?”

Not that I’d expected a real response, but his lack of an answer still pissed me off.

Unable to control my anger, I smashed the side of my weapon against his face, enjoying the cracking sound. He was a tough asshole, grinning as if enjoying the hell out of himself.

“One last time or I’m going to enjoy shooting out your other kneecap. Then your elbows. Then your jaw. Then hell, I don’t know where I’ll go from there. Who are you working for?”

He spit blood against my shirt. I took a deep breath. He was a lifer with whatever group he was working for, taught that dying was a symbol of respect.

“Giustizia sarà fatta.”

Justice will be served.

Not in German, but in Italian.

His words were all I needed to know.

They were also the last he’d ever say again.

Pop! Pop!

Exhaling, I shifted away from the light and back to the door leading out onto the deck. Very carefully I opened one side, crouching down and heading outside. The morning light was just about to pop over the horizon, creating an eerie combination of shadows with the thick foliage surrounding the buildings.

I moved from one side to the other, both listening to and scanning the area. From what I could tell, no other soldiers were waiting in the shadows.

Now moving quickly, I headed inside, crouching down to one of the dead men. As expected, I found no identification. Also as expected, the first man had a tattoo on his chest.

A skull with a dagger. What do you want to bet I’d find the same image on the others?

I was correct, but there was no other identification. However, I sensed they’d been trained at what they were doing, moving in formation.

After closing and locking the front door, I returned to the bedroom, taking a deep breath before gently knocking on thebathroom door. I slipped my weapon behind my back under the waistband of my trousers. She already would have enough reminders that everything she’d thought about me and who I was had been correct.

Old ways never died. They simply lay dormant.

I’d often chatted with my brother and cousins, wondering if they felt the same way I did.

Almost preferring the old style of doing business.

Perhaps my brother was the only man who’d never wanted anything to do with brutality or violence. For the others, both were innate in our bloodline.

And it felt good to go back to my roots.

“Fallon. It’s okay. You’re safe.”

Bella woofed only once and when Fallon threw open the door, the pup jumped on my leg. The intense growl was gone, the dog’s tail wagging happily.

Fallon threw her arms around me and hearing her ragged breathing grabbed at everything inside of me.

“It’s okay,” I whispered, nuzzling into her neck.

“Nothing is okay.”

She was right about that. “It will be.”