Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 77233 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77233 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
No. Francesca. . .are you trying to get rid of me? Tonight, Christmas Eve. . .in front of Zuri’s place?
My mind and heart shattered at the thought.
A tense silence settled over as the wind howled around us, and the snow swirled in a mad dance.
Bad move, Francesca.
I opened my jacket and placed my hands at my sides. “Fellas, do you really want to die on Christmas Eve?”
Chapter 1
Cold Betrayal
My question evaporated into the cold night, met only by a suffocating silence.
The Crimson Mob, my supposed brethren, formed a ring of steel around me, their silence louder than any words could be.
Zuri was right.
A surge of adrenaline coursed through my veins as I sized up my would-be executioners.
Years of living on a razor’s edge, where every moment could lead to violence, had honed my instincts to a fine point.
They took over now.
Bypassing conscious thought, my body readied itself for the fight I knew was coming.
Bastards.
A bitter rage fueled me.
It was a wildfire set ablaze by their treachery.
Even though I couldn’t see their faces, I knew their stances, the awkward lean of a shoulder here, the nervous twitch of a foot there—silent telltales I’d come to recognize. Marly’s bullish posture, Lucky’s weight shifting from heel to toe, Johnny Law’s slight hunch.
Their familiarity was the cruelest blade at my throat.
We had been as close as men could be, sharing the bond of spilled blood and battles fought. But Francesca’s whispers had poisoned the well of our brotherhood.
Who else would Francesca send but those who knew me best, those skilled enough to anticipate my moves, predict my thoughts?
The realization was a physical blow, a punch to the gut that left me breathless.
I served you, Francesca. Loyally. For years. And now this?
“Say something, you disloyal fucks!” I sneered at them. “Come on!”
My voice boomed through the snow-filled block.
One of the men, a burly figure spoke up, and instantly I recognized his voice as Marly. “Dante, you know what’s going on here.”
I looked his way. “Do I?”
Marly shrugged. “Francesca sent us to take care of business.”
“And why would you so eagerly jump on this job?”
“She told us about your secret dealings and all the stealing?”
I frowned. “Stealing?”
“She found out that you were dipping into our treasure pot, keeping everyone short on cash, while keeping your trunks full of gold.”
“Bullshit.” I touched my chest. “You think I would do that?”
Marly shrugged again. “Francesca doesn’t employ me to think.”
My heart ached at the betrayal, but my voice remained steady. “And surrounding me like this is the way to handle it? After everything we have been through? I’m the fucking god father for most of your kids!”
“Orders are orders, Dante,” another one said, his voice told me he was Lucky. “You’ve been around long enough to know that.”
“Years of loyalty, friendship, and you turn on me like this?”
“We didn’t make the call,” Johnny Law said, his voice softening slightly. “But we have to follow it. You understand that.”
“I understand loyalty.” My gaze swept over each of their masked faces. “Something you’ve all forgotten. And you think those masks can hide who you are to me, Marly, Lucky, and Johnny Law? You better succeed because if not, I will be on your doorstep bashing your fucking heads into the pavement.”
Everyone else remained silent, surely not wanting me to figure out who they were.
The cold air grew thick with tension, the snowflakes falling gently around us, covering the ground in a blanket of purity that was in stark contrast to the scene unfolding before me.
“It’s too late,” one of them said, and I realized it was Freddie.
“You are right. It is too late.” I snapped. “The Red Widow sent my own brothers-in-crime to kill me like I’m a rat.”
The men shifted uneasily, their confidence waning in the face of my defiance. I could see the doubt in their eyes, the uncertainty.
They knew what I was capable of.
But they had their orders, and they would carry them out.
Still. . .something tapped at the back of my head.
I don’t understand.
I took them in some more.
She knows these guys can’t fucking kill me, even if they all come for me at once.
I pulled back my coat further, giving me good access to my guns.
What is Francesca’s true plan because this isn’t it? She’s smarter than that.
The snow continued to fall, covering the ground in a blanket of white, innocent of the blood that was about to be spilled.
So stupid of me to ever trust her.
I had been blind to the reality that Zuri had seen so clearly.
My mind shifted into overdrive, analyzing my options, planning my escape.
I wish it weren’t snowing.
The night was made even more impenetrable by the thick flurry of snowfall. Each flake was like a shard of white, intent on blinding me and them.
Seeing through this blizzard is like trying to spot a shadow in a coal mine.