Page 98 of Tainted Obsession 1

Upstairs, Gian and Enzo are probably longing for their turn to prove themselves, tossing and turning in their makeshift beds in the back room that we’ve made our home for the last four years. The brothers are as eager as I am to becomecamorrista.We’ve paid our dues and run errands for the Bernardi clan—everything from selling their product on the street to carrying out minor robberies.

Tonight, it’s my time to become a man. Their opportunity will come soon enough.

The captive man is rail thin with visible track marks on his skinny arms. His dirty clothes hang loosely on his scrawny frame, but I can’t see his face. Someone has shoved a black hood over his head, and, judging by the muffled sounds coming from beneath it, he’s gagged.

Cesare Salerno looms behind his captive, cold black eyes glinting with amusement at the man’s predicament. His thin lips are stretched into a semblance of a smile, but there’s no warmth behind it. In his impeccably tailored suit, he might pass for asuave gentleman—if you don’t look too closely at his maniacal expression.

We all know to tread carefully around the notorious sadist and sociopath who’s renowned for making his enemies suffer before they die. He’s a powerful man, and one day, he’ll probably be head of the clan. He’s vicious and ruthless—with a cruel streak that makes him one of the most feared men inLe Vele.

Salerno’s dark eyes flash beneath the spare lightbulb that barely illuminates the concrete space, his inhuman gaze cutting straight into my soul.

“I have a job for you, Massimo.”

“Anything,” I reply eagerly, ready to carry out any task he demands of me.

This is the first time I’ve ever been alone with Salerno—well, alone except for his captive.

Tonight is my chance to make an impression. To become one of his brothers in blood. I will get out of this shitty bar, out of this shitty neighborhood. Gian and Enzo will get out with me. We made a pact, and none of us will leave the others behind.

Salerno fists the hood and jerks it off his captive’s head.

Just as I suspected, the man is gagged, a dirty length of cloth drawn tightly between his yellowed teeth. Sweat drenches his sun-weathered brow, and his eyes are wild with panic.

“Do you know this man?” Salerno asks.

I study his fear-twisted features. “No.”

Salerno grips the man’s hair, yanking his head back so that I can see his face clearly.

“Look at him. Memorize his face. Burn it into your mind.”

I nod, obeying. I study the dirty man as though he’s an insect I might grind beneath my boot.

“You’re going to kill him.” Salerno’s cold command freezes the blood in my veins.

My heart stutters, but I keep my face impassive.

I’ve never killed anyone before. Sometimes, I wave a gun around to get people’s attention, and occasionally, I draw blood with my knife. But I always avoid killing.

My mother’s empty, caramel eyes flicker through my mind, the memory of her final look of horror tormenting me.

I straighten my shoulders and face Salerno.

“Why?” I ask, jerking my chin at the bound man. “What did he do?”

A hint of a smirk plays around the corners of Salerno’s mouth. He’s enjoying this.

“You’ll never know. You’ll kill him because I ordered you to. Won’t you, Massimo?” The last is a snake’s challenging hiss.

My mind churns, and I struggle to force down the macabre images of my parents’ dead bodies. They were innocent, and the gang gunned them down for no reason.

I left behind my father’s pacifism long ago, but the prospect of turning into the same kind of monster that murdered him makes nausea surge.

I tip my chin back and meet Salerno squarely in the eye, knowing better than to show a moment of weakness.

“And if I don’t?”

With the swiftness of a striking viper, he draws the gun that was holstered at his side. It trains directly on my heart, and I stop breathing.