Page 36 of Tragic Empire

Once the internal thoughts start, they’re hard to stop.

You’re doing this for a good reason.

Cassio has been so nice; you don’t need to worry.

In the midst of my mental rambling, my eyes catch on a bright flash of metal. Stashed on the underside of the chair nearest me, an unsheathed knife pokes out. I reach for it instinctively, curious about the weapon.

It’s a standard tactical knife with a straight blade. I don’t test the tip’s sharpness, sure that any weapon in this house is properly kept. In fact, it’s so polished that I can see my reflection in the shiny blade. Jade and Matteo have mentioned that the house has stashes of self-defense material in the past, but I’ve never happened upon them before.

Perhaps I’ll start carrying a knife. Maybe even a gun.

I doubt the men who captured us two nights ago even searched me for a weapon. Cole and Killian were always in possession of some kind of defense, but not me. I never saw the appeal or had the need.

Tilting the blade between my hands, I wonder,would that night have gone differently if I had one of these up my sleeve?

The satisfying image of a bald head speared with a knife almost makes me smile. But no, a quick blow to the brain would be too kind for that man. If I could pick, I’d want him skinned alive. I think hearing his screams might heal me in ways that nothing else could.

“If you are thinking about ending your life, just know that I’ll shoot that knife out of your hand before you make my brother a widow twice over.” The deep rumble of Nico Moretti’s voice startles me out of my trance.

His cold words take a minute to process and my nose scrunches until I look at the steel blade in my hand once again. He thinks I’m contemplating offing myself. I can understand his thought process, but he couldn’t be further off base.

“I’m not going to kill myself,” I mutter numbly. Slowly extending my arm out to the side, my fingers release the hilt and I watch as it clatters against the tiled floor. “I couldn’t, even if I wanted to.”

Nico eyes me with suspicion and cocks a brow. “Why not?”

Surprised by his candor, I can’t help but snort. “If I die, Killian wakes up alone. He’s… he’s my brother. Cole is gone, Bron is gone. I should have the guts to stick around, otherwise he’ll have no one.”

It’s deadly silent for a moment.

“You and Cassio have more in common than you think.”

“Maybe,” I reply with a helpless shrug. I can’t confirm or deny, I hardly know the man who’s now my husband.

“Why the knife?” He nods to the discarded weapon. “If you weren’t going to hurt yourself, why were you staring at it like it was your salvation?”

I don’t contemplate lying, not even for a moment. “I was thinking about revenge. I want to make whoever did this to me wish they were never born.”

His mouth twitches in the barest hint of a smile. “Now you’re starting to sound like a Moretti—minus the accent, of course.”

“I can do American,” I admit, shifting into an impressive impersonation of a standard States’ accent. “I’m afraid Italian American isn’t in my repertoire. I’ll have to work on it.”

Nico tilts his head, assessing me. “Accents come in handy for you, do they? Did you learn them for some kind of strategy?”

“I was a bored child,” I tell him with a huff. “I liked to mimic people. I can do more. French, Australian, and a few others. The only thing that they were useful for was entertaining myself.”

“But you see how they could be useful now?”

“I guess. Disguising myself would be easier with a voice change… but I don’t see why I would need to do that.”

“Oh, Ana.” Nico gives me a dull look, blinking once. “You never know when you need an ace up your sleeve. I’ll let you in on a little secret to this life we live. Every single thing you’ve ever learned, every bit of information you know… that’s what makes you a weapon. A one of a kind, never to be replicated weapon.”

“I hardly think I’m a weapon.”

“All people are weapons, some of us are just more honed than others.”

I let his words digest and nod solemnly.

“Before they shot Killian, he told them that they would regret it, that we have allies who’d avenge them. It’s stupid… but part of me thought maybe he was talking about me. The men, they told Cole and Killian that I wouldn’t be dying, but maybe he thought they’d change their minds if he threatened them with me.”