My finger rested on the trigger. Red hot rage boiled in my blood. I knew if I did this, there was no coming back from it. Mario would be dead, and I'd never be the same.
My sister's ghostly white face floated in the air before me, her lively blue eyes dull in death. Memories of my father, beaten and broken. And of my mother, spewing her hate at me like it was my fault Mario had gone after them. If it wasn't for this piece of shit in front of me, my sister would still be alive, ordering me around and my parents would be home. Safe.
And I never would’ve been taken. I would still be the girl I was before I'd been forced into this sick game.
I took a deep breath. And when I released it, I tightened my finger on the trigger. The gun went off, and the bullet grazed the side of his face.
Mario's eye widened in shock. And then he laughed, loud and crazy.
Hot, angry tears filled my eyes until I couldn't see. I pulled the trigger again. And again. I pulled it over and over until the laughter stopped and Mario's head fell back, his mouth hanging open as his dead eyes stared up at the ceiling. There wasn't much left of his face, although a few shots had hit him in the chest.
I stared at him for a long time, the gun still pointed at his face, until my arm began to tremble violently, and I couldn't hold it up anymore. I dropped the gun to my side and bent at the waist, screaming at the dead body in front of me. I screamed with all of the rage and sorrow inside of me. I screamed in horror. And I screamed in triumph.
And when I was done, when there was nothing left but a comfortable numbness, I breathed. Just breathed. Straightening up, my eyes found Luca and my stomach rolled. I was going to be sick.
Walking over to me, he lifted one hand and cupped my face in his palm. I thought he would take the gun from me then, but he didn't. Instead, he lowered himself to his knees on the blood-covered cement floor.
"What are you doing?" My voice was hoarse from screaming. Tears and snot ran down my face as my entire body trembled with the gravity of what I'd just done.
"I'm giving you a chance, amore."
I stared down at him, confused.
Enzo appeared beside me. I hadn't even realized he was still here. "Luca, what are you doing?"
"What I should've done all along," Luca told him. His blue eyes never left me. "I'm giving Veda a choice."
"Luca, stop it." But even as I said the words, my finger twitched on the trigger.
"If you want to be rid of me, amore, this is the only way that's ever going to fucking happen. You can pull that fucking trigger, and you'll be free. Or you can put down the gun. But if you choose the second option, you'll never be able to escape me. I'll hunt you down to the last corners of this fucking earth, and I'll rip apart anyone who tries to keep you from me. So, my vita, you have a choice. And this is the only time I'll give it to you." Then he sat back on his heels, placed his palms on his hard thighs, and waited.
Fucking hell, he was offering me a way out.
There was a burning knot in my chest that rose to clog my throat as ragged sobs tore through me. All I'd wanted these last few weeks was to get away from this man and everything he stood for. Yes, he'd fucked me like I'd never been fucked before. He'd protected me. He'd loved me.
But he'd also ripped me from my life. He'd used me, He'd played me. He'd sucked me into his fucking game and tore me open, just to patch me back together again and send me sprawling back out into a world I no longer knew. And I was so fucking done.
Lifting the gun, I pressed the barrel against his forehead. There wouldn't be any missing this time. "I love you," I whispered brokenly.
"I know," he whispered back.
The last thing I heard was Enzo's shout.
And then I pulled the trigger.