Page 299 of Shadowman

“Yes,” he spits. “In fact, he’s engaged.” Those words are a slice. A quick one. But it’s nothing I can’t handle, and the pain is eased when he adds, “To a lovely girl. They’ll be married this spring.”

My head slants. “Doesheknow about that?”

“What the fuck—Of course he knows…”

“If you say so.” I shrug, inching closer. “The thing is, Governor Russo, for three years, I’ve gone over that night. I’ve replayed it in my mindthousandsof times, wondering what I could’ve done differently. Contemplated all the various places along the way to your townhouse where I could have just… stopped. The opportunities I had to change my fate.” I pause to breathe. “But in the end, I come up with the same result… every time.”

“Listen to me, you sick fucking fa—”

“Hang on,” I cut him off mid-slur. “I’m not finished. You can call me that after I say this, I promise. If I could go back, I wouldn’t do a damn thing differently. Because despite how fucking awful this place is—and yes, itisjust… terrible—it was still worth it, for even afewmoments with him. Those last ones… they were life changing.” My eyes flit behind him. “And I’m only telling you this now because I know it won’t matter… He won’t have to be afraid to be himself anymore. And that’s a beautiful thing, because people shouldn’t have to hide themselves…ever. Especially not from their family, the people who aresupposedto love them, no matter what.”

Russo is turning beet red, backing up while I move closer. Like he’s afraid he’ll catch it.

Fucking dipshit.

“Your son is gay, Governor. And I know you know that. So I just wanted to say that I don’t regret any part of being with him. Even if it landed me here, even if it had to stay in the shadows,Michelangelo Russo was the first person who made me feelreal. He’s part of my origin story.”

I smirk, eyes moving over his shoulder once more. “And so are you. So you can rest uneasily, Mr.Governor… knowing that your son will be having lots of fantastic sex with men from here on out… Andyouwon’t be around to lock them all up for being queer.”

Just as his face is morphing into pure rage—as he’s undoubtedly about to call me afaggotand maybe try to hit me—a hand holding a blade juts out from behind him, flicking in a quick, yet seriouslydeep, slice across his throat.

Antonio Russo’s eyes widen, blood instantly spraying from the gash in his neck, splattering across my face. Like an instinct, he reaches up to grab it, but it’s pumping too forcefully.

Nice shot… He got the carotid artery without even looking. That’s a pro for you.

Russo falls to his knees in slow motion, slumping at my feet to reveal The Carver, who’s standing behind him with his long,supersharp knife. We lock eyes, in the split second while time is standing still.

I nod at him, and he smiles back.

I guess he’s not so bad after all.

But then it all speeds up. Back to chaos in aflash.

Diving onto Felix, I cover him with my body as gunshots ring out around us. People are screaming and shouting, but it’s muffled and unintelligible over the blood pumping in my ears. I’m certain I’m about to be shot. There’s no way I won’t be…

Russo’s guys were close. They’ve got a clear shot, and none of us have guns or any protection. The only thing I can do is keep covering Felix and shout for the others to take cover in the woods.

But when seconds pass and Ihaven’tbeen shot, I lift my head enough to look around. The ringing in my ears gives way to a loud roar. A familiar one…

Sounds like a… motorcycle.

“Get up!” someone is shouting. “Run for the armory!”

Holy fucking shit, it’s Velle.

My face whips to the side, and there he is… Officer fucking Chevelle, on his Harley—the bike, not his boyfriend—speeding through the sand, firing rounds from an automatic AR-15 directly at Russo’s men.

Checking on the others, I see them all retreating between the trees. I breathe out of relief, peeking down at Felix, who’s literally lying underneath me in the sand.

“Ready to run?” I rasp, and he nods fast, cheeks all flushed.

Okay, he’s kinda cute.

Scrambling onto my knees, I grab Felix by the arm and drag him with me, making a run for the woods. Velle is laying down cover, and fortunately he’s moving because there are shots coming from up the shore too.

The Ivory’s men. Shit.

Running like I’ve never run before, I haul Felix along with me, dodging gunfire. Russo’s men are shooting at us, and my heart is flying so fast I think it’s actually propelling me.