I stand in the middle of the foyer, gaping at the scene, and as I look back at the boys, I find them down to the last three … no, make it two.
The blood covering the expensive marble floor is like a fucking pool, splashing up around the boys’ heavy boots. All I can do is stare at it in disgust. I’ve never seen anything like it. So many bodies … so much death all at once. I’m just glad that I never got around to breakfast this morning.
I back up toward the window to stay out of the way and can’t help but glance out, seeing Giovanni and Ariana on the opposite side of the big door. I suck in a breath. “Time’s up,” I warn the boys, remembering exactly why we’re here.
The door handle twists and the boys get the job done.
Roman goes for the throat of one guy as Levi takes the guts of the other. The door springs open, and just as Giovanni steps through, the sound of the two final guards sloshing into the pool of blood sounds through the quiet foyer.
30
Ariana’s wailing scream tears through the foyer as she barrels through the door after Giovanni. Both their eyes are wide, taking in the massacre around them as Giovanni’s three sons stand in a mess of blood, looking like a bunch of kids who’ve just had the best day of their life at the playground.
It’s as though I’m watching in slow motion as Ariana’s chest rises and falls with erratic, wild movements. Her gaze sweeps over the three boys before trailing down to the fifteen bodies scattered on the ground, trying to figure out how the hell this happened so fast. There were only a few seconds between the guards entering the mansion and them trailing up the stairs behind them. In theory, what just happened here shouldn’t even be possible, yet here we are.
Giovanni walks through the foyer, kicking bodies out of his way as he makes a show of taking in the destruction, though it doesn’t go unnoticed that each of his steps takes him further away from his sons. “Quite impressive,” Giovanni says as Ariana foolishly remains by the door, assuming that in this room, she is the safest of all. “Was this supposed to be retaliation for this morning?”
I laugh and Giovanni turns on me, his wild stare piercing through me like one of the boys’ knives before quickly flickering toward the wild animals that stand by my side. “This here isn’t retaliation. This is the end of your reign,” I tell him, striding across the room as though I have every right to take point on this as the wolves move forward, letting their intentions be known while also keeping their eyes on Roman's subtle commands. I step in beside Roman and hold out my hand as I take in the anger deep in Giovanni’s stare before making a point of turning my attention on Ariana. “And it all starts with her.”
Ariana takes a hesitant step back, having expected a lot of things to come out of my mouth, but definitely not that. “Her?” Giovanni spits as I hear the faint drip, drip, drip of blood falling from the hem of the boys’ shirts. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Roman places his phone in the palm of my hand, not saying a word as he lets me have my moment. I walk toward Giovanni while still keeping my distance and bring up the video from the bar as a soft growl tears through the room. I hold up the phone and let the video play, and while it would mean absolutely nothing to Giovanni, it’s the difference between life or death for the woman cowering by the door.
Ariana’s back stiffens as her eyes widen with horror, sucking in a loud gasp. Her gaze quickly falls to mine, knowing exactly what this means and exactly what I want. She swallows hard and turns her stare to Roman’s, shaking her head. “It’s not what it looks like,” she murmurs, backing up another step, knowing that even though I’m taking point, Roman is the one she needs to be wary of. “Roman, no. You’ve got it all wrong. I had nothing to do with it.”
“Nothing to do with what?” Giovanni spits.
Roman doesn’t respond as I laugh. “Really, now?” I muse, glazing over Giovanni’s question as I stride past him to get closer to his wife, knowing just how much being left in the dark must be pissing him off. “Because it looks a lot like you’re sitting in a dive bar in the middle of the night, meeting with the guy who kidnaped and tortured me the very next day. Now, I’m not one to believe in coincidences, but you gotta admit, something seems a little … shady with this one. Don’t you think?”