I won’t let you down again, Israel. I promise.
And the second those elevator doors opened, I punched Giovanni straight in the dick.
23
Israel
“Bonnie!”
I yelled for her as I came down the staircase after taking some time to think.
“Bonnie, we need to talk!”
I got into the living room just as the elevator doors opened, and I watched my brother step into my place. Again. He had a slight limp he hadn’t had before, and I felt a chill work its way up my spine.
“Where’s Bonnie?”
“She’s not here,” Giovanni said with a tired sigh.
I paused. “Where is she?”
He hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “I did you a solid and sent her back to her uncle.”
I clenched my fists. “You did what?”
“Hold on. Sorry, Iz. I’m just a bit—”
I charged my brother and grabbed his jacket. He groaned as I shoved him against the wall, listening to the elevator doors close. I picked him up off his feet. I saw him roll his eyes as I pulled him back, slamming him against the wall.
“What. The fuck. Did you do?” I asked, with each body slam.
He sighed. “Damn it, Iz. Why can’t you just do things that are good for you in the first place?”
“What did you do?”
I slammed him against the wall again before dropping him from my hands.
He crumbled at my feet.
“Tell me the truth,” I demanded.
He shook his head. “I’ve already done—mmph!”
I kicked him in his gut. “Tell me the truth, goddamn it, or I’ll kill you myself.”
He looked up at me. “You’d really kill your own brother over some pointless bitch?”
I leaned down. “Is she right?”
“What?” He looked thoroughly confused.
“Was that voice recording you played for me edited?”
He snickered. “Not like you’ll believe anything I tell yo—aaahh!”
I grabbed a fist full of his hair, raking my nails along his scalp. “Squeal like the pig you know you are and tell me the truth, Gio.”
When his lower lip started quivering, I shoved him to the ground. I kicked him one more time in the ribs just to make myself feel better before I reached for my things. My brother wanted to ruin my life on purpose. Bonnie had known that from the moment she’d heard that recording.
I should’ve listened.
“She’s already dead, you know.” Giovanni called spat a mouthful of blood onto my pristine marble floors, and that alone was enough to warrant the taking of his life.
“I’ll send my clean-up crew for you,” I jammed my hand onto the elevator button, summoning the doors to open and ready to go after Bonnie.
The person I should’ve trusted in the first place.
24
Bonnie
My eye hurt. My stomach turned over onto itself. It felt like I’d broken one of my knuckles, and the scratches down my legs had clotted over with scabs. The car I rode in the back of pulled up to my uncle’s estate. I gazed up at it, wondering what other tortures I might face before my death.
You were born into a dangerous life. You always knew that.
The car came to a stop, and my eyes danced along the pressure-washed facade of the house. I reflected on the way I had lived my life up until this point. Quiet. Meek. Mild. Never one to anger people or raise my voice. I had been born into a dangerous life, and instead of owning that, I’d decided to play it safe. I’d become weak. Naive. Acting as if this world didn’t exist, when it really did.
But now, I felt something else blossoming inside me, felt something else taking hold of my soul. The darkness that had always draped me entered through every orifice in my body, filling me from my toes to my nose.
It’s time to get back to Israel.
However, the second my uncle stepped onto the grand front porch, all of my strength dissipated. The wild grin on his face and his growing eyes told me I was about to endure tortures I didn’t even understand to exist. He walked closer to the car, and I slid to the other side. Trying my best to get away from him. My body was sore from last night, but the scratches and the bruises had Giovanni left behind were only an appetizer to what Pava would do to me.
After all, I was privy to his techniques. I’d heard the screams from our sound-proof basement, even as a child. I knew what happened down there. I knew what Pava did once he got his hands on someone he wanted to eliminate.
So, when he opened the door, I expected him to yank me out. I expected him to beat me senseless before tossing me over his shoulder.
But instead, he smiled at me and offered his hand. “Come. It looks like you could use a hot bath and a nice meal.”
As memories of my parent’s death crossed my mind, I shook my head. Because even though he was playing nice, I knew he wouldn’t be that way for long. I knew he’d play the psychological game with me until I begged for death.
Time to get back to Israel, Bonnie.
I just didn’t know how to make that happen.
I didn’t know how to make anything happen anymore.
25
Israel
I had this feeling I couldn't shake, a feeling that changed the course of everything happening. I walked up to my father’s residence intent on straightening this out once and for all. I was getting Bonnie back.
“Dad!” I slammed the car door closed as I marched up to his front door. “Dad! Open this door now!”
I banged my fist against his front door before it fell open, and I found my father standing on the other side.
“We need to talk.” I didn’t give him time to usher me in before I brushed past him.
“What is it, son? What’s going on?” he asked, closing the door behind me.
I
