“Iz, listen to yourself. Do you eve hear what you’re saying?”
I smiled. “I do, Gio. I do hear myself. But here’s the kicker: no one cares about what she’s done for this family and for this empire and for me, of all people, because she made one mistake. A mistake she didn’t even follow through with, mind you. And I won’t make that mistake twice.”
“What mistake, Israel!?”
I snickered. “Are you listening, Gio? Because it almost seems to me that if it’s not about you, then you don’t listen.”
“Iz, don’t you hang up on me. Iz, just tell me where you are right now. Let me come find you so we can—”
“Gotta go, Gio. Good luck on the other side of this thing.”
And as we pulled up to Pava Moretti’s home, I hung up my cell phone before removing the battery from the back.
29
Bonnie
The cold metal against the palm of my hand fit in well with the landscape around me.
Cold, barren walls of dark gray and black trim. Crimson red furniture with a roaring fire to remind them of their powerful color. High-backed chairs fit for kings and queens, chairs I grew up watching my aunt and my uncle sit in. My uncle, with his legs spread and a grin on his face, my aunt, with her leg crossed over her knee and her lips pursed.
I had spent so many nights of my own childhood creeping into this room just to figure out why they loved it so much. Why they loved spending their nights sipping cocktails and laughing with one another in a room that held nothing but a fireplace. I understood it now, though. I understood this room, and why it existed, and why the people who raised me loved it so much.
The black canvases of thick fabric hung on the walls like expensive pieces of art. They dotted the landscape around me, covering the four walls of the room in as much sound absorption as possible, so no one could hear the screams of Pava’s interrogation victims. The hardwood floors were a beautiful cherry mahogany, in case blood seeped between the fibers and laid waste to its home. That way, the beautiful cherry mahogany detracted from the small pieces of crust that had a tendency to flake out from between the individual wooden slats.
This was Pava’s interrogation room. A place where so many men had seen death. A place where he and my aunt not only sought entertainment, but solace. This was a room that knew many ghosts. That had ushered many souls over to the other side at the hands of my own uncle. And as I stood there, with the barrel of the guard’s gun pressed against his temple, only one thought rushed through my mind.
You’ll join your ghosts tonight.
“Well, what an interesting turn of events,” Pava said.
I pressed the barrel of my stolen gun harder against his temple.
“You’ll never have the strength to pull it, you know.”
My aunt hissed. “Stop taunting her. I’ve told you this girl has always been stronger than you give her credit for.”
I grinned. “Hear that, uncle? Strong.”
He chuckled. “It’s cute that you think she’s telling the truth. The psychological game, remember? It’s always being played even if you think it isn’t. And even if you did pull that trigger, Bonnie, you won’t inspire anyone to rally behind her. Everyone I know and love—and employ—will gun for you until you’re as dead as your parents.”
I hadn’t thought to rally anyone behind my aunt. “Mention them one more time and see what happens.”
He sighed dramatically. “Empty threats. What have I always told you about them? Besides, who’s going to look on in favor at the orphan who killed the only remaining family she had left? Who in the world would want to support you after that? If anything, you’ll look crazy, and there will be a bounty so high on your head civilians themselves would come out of the woodworks to put you down. No, no, Bonnie. If you kill us right now? You’ll be on the run for the rest of your life. You think Israel will want you then? Hmm?”
The truth of the matter was I still didn’t want to kill my uncle. It had been surprisingly easy to subdue that guard and get up the stairs. It had been even easier to find my aunt and uncle. In the back of my mind, I knew this was all a set-up. But I couldn't stop the anger, the part of me who wanted to see this man’s brains scattered at his own fucking feet even though I couldn’t pull that trigger. “All I want is to live my life free of your threat. Why can’t you give that to me?”
Pava looked at me. “Everything we want comes at a cost. If you want to be free of me, you’ll have to walk around with my blood on your hands for the rest of your life. If you want to be free of my physical presence, understand you’ll never be free of my spirit. Ever.”
I had to pull this trigger. It’d be so easy. My finger tightened against the trigger.
“Moretti,” Israel called. “I’ve transferred your money! Give me Bonnie. Where the hell are you?”
Pava grinned. “We’re back here, Israel! Down the hall and through the double doors.”
My aunt whispered. “Put that gun away before he sees you.”
I grinned. “What makes you think I don’t want him to see?”
Never in my life did I think Israel’s footsteps would be such a relief. But hope filled my heart as he grew closer to the room.
I felt his eyes lock onto my body.
30
Israel
“Bonnie?” I asked, not quite believing what I was seeing.
She
