Page 98 of The Bonventi Hitman

I close my eyes as his fist slams into the wall mere inches from my head. The impact is so forceful I feel the vibration through my entire body.

"Gabriel, please, let me explain?—"

"Explain?" he snarls. "Explain how you've been lying to me this entire time? How you've been playing me like a fucking fool to destroy me? My family. What I've done for you..."

Before I can respond, Gabriel whips out his gun. For a moment, it feels like time slows, and I feel this may be the end of my story.

The first shot I don't even hear, but it brings me back, and the three more shots that follow are deafening. I jump to the side, and a small scream leaves my lips as Gabriel shoots into the ground.

"Is this what you wanted?" he yells, waving the gun around. "To get close enough to take me down? Huh? Fucking answer me."

Tears stream down my face as I shake my head frantically. "No, Gabriel, it's not like that. Please, just listen to me?—"

"Listen to you?" he scoffs, his voice dripping with contempt. "Why the fuck should I listen to anything you have to say? Every word out of your mouth has been a lie!"

He turns away from me, breathing heavily with frustration, before whirling back around, his eyes showcasing his feelings of betrayal.

"Was any of this real?" he demands, motioning back and forth between him and me. "Or were you just using me to get the information you needed?"

"No!" I cry out, my heart breaking at the pain in his eyes. "Gabriel, please. It started out as a mission, yes, but things changed. I changed."

He laughs bitterly as his hand tightens around his gun. "Oh, really? And I'm supposed to believe that?"

I take a slow, hesitant step toward him, my hands outstretched. "It's the truth. I never meant for any of this to happen. I was never meant to be here or with you; it was the Irish we were after. And..." I say and wipe the tears from my face, "I sure as hell never meant to fall in love with you."

The words hang in the air between us, and for a moment, Gabriel seems stunned into silence.

"Love?" he finally yells. "You don't know the meaning of the word. Everything about you is a lie. Even your fucking name!"

He's right, but as long as I'm still breathing, I must try to make him see how I feel—to know everything. I'm desperate for him to understand.

"My name might be different, but my feelings for you are real. I love you, Gabriel. I love you so much it scares me," I say through tears.

Gabriel's jaw clenches. "How am I supposed to believe anything you say? You've been trying to take me and my family down since I met you."

"No, no! I haven't told them anything about you. I couldn't."

He stares at me, his expression a mixture of disbelief and anger. "Why?" he demands.

"Because somewhere along the way, I fell for you. The real you. Not the mobster, not the hitman, but the man who loves books and takes care of his sister. The man who makes me feel safe and cherished."

Gabriel's eyes search my face, looking for any sign of deception. I stare at him, willing him to see the truth in my eyes—that I am not lying.

"I know I've hurt you," I continue, my voice shaking. "And I'm so, so sorry for that. But please believe me when I say that what I'm telling you right now is real. It's the most real thing I've ever felt in my life."

"FUCK," Gabriel screams as he paces the office, breathing heavily. "What am I supposed to do now? I can't let an FBI agent destroy me or bring down the Bonventis. I'm sorry," he says and takes a deep breath. "I just can't."

I stand there, my breaths coming fast and shallow. The faint scent of gunpowder fills my nose. The gun in his hand suddenly seems more threatening than ever.

He turns to look at me, and something in the way he does frightens me. In this moment, I wish I hadn't left my purse in the car.

"Gabriel, please—" I say, but he cuts me off with a harsh laugh.

I place my right hand on my stomach and stretch out my left hand.

"Wait. Stop, there's more," I say, but he doesn't stop. He reaches out and grips my left hand tightly.

"I think I've heard enough?—"