Chapter 17
I awoke with Giovanni's arms wrapped firmly around my waist. Instead of marveling at this moment, my mind told me I have to get the fuck out of here. I knew that I might have to pay for it later, but right now I need to get to Jess. I inched out of his grasp slowly, trying not to wake him. My heart began pounding when he shifted, pulling me tighter.
"Fuck." I sighed under my breath.
Giovanni's breathing returned to a gentle, steady rhythm and I was finally out of his grasp. The moment my feet hit the floor, I nearly screamed from my body being in so much pain from the night before. I'd been in fights and have taken blows to the ribs, but this feels like every movement was a struggle. Everything hurt, but somehow my coño was feeling just right.
I touched the doorknob and for a brief second I thought about staying until he wakes up, but we all know that Giovanni wouldn't let me leave. I opened the door and made it to the room where my belongings were and as I grabbed my purse, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Giovanni's collar was still there, glistening around my neck.
I felt the struggle I was having with my body and my mind. Part of me wanted to keep it on forever, while the other part of me wanted to just kill the bastard. I quickly dressed and quietly walked out the front door. Giovanni's guards looked at me so casually that I could tell this wasn't new for them. Call it pride or stupidity, but I was pissed that this was the norm.
I walked the long road, listening to the voicemail and it was just as painful the second time as it was the first. I replayed the voice over and over and it somehow felt familiar to me. I listened and heard a part I didn't hear before. I called Griffin and asked him to pick me up by sending him my location.
"You look like shit."
"Good morning to you, too."
"Rough night?" He said and then he quickly followed it with. "I don't want to know."
Griffin was in a pretty chipper mood, which told me he didn't know and I shouldn't have known either. But Santiago called me and I believe the information he had to tell me is why he's dead.
"Griff."
"Yeah?"
"Santiago is- is dead." I finally muttered the words aloud and everything went still and silent.
I was transported back to the day that has led me on the path of revenge. The gunshots, the blood and my mother's lifeless body and hollow eyes. I felt the hot tears streaming down my face and then with a blink, I saw me and tió walking out of the house with me in his arms.
"Scar?"
Griffin's voice jolted me out of my memories and when I looked at him, I saw the hurt in his eyes.
"This is bad, Scar. He's the only one who knows everything." Griffin swallowed hard before saying, "This is going to be my last mission, Scar. I want a life outside of all of this darkness."
"I don't think there's any light for me, Griff," I said as I laid my head on the window, watching the road disappear.
I've never thought about a family of my own. I think somewhere deep down inside, I knew not to dream of such a life because I never know when death will come for me. But I know before I go, the Lucianos will go down.
"I need to make a stop."
Griffin drove me to the storage unit that I lease and that holds my important belongings. I ran back to my unit and quickly pulled out my phone to send the voicemail to my secured phone. Griffin entered hesitantly.
"I take it you don't have one of these?"
"No, but I'm about to get one!"
While I was busy on my phone, Griffin was scoping out the scene, his glance stopping at the picture hanging up on the far wall. I loaded my gun, changed my shoes to my combat boots and grabbed my black, leather jacket.
"Is that?"
"Santiago," I walked to him and I could tell he was kicking himself for not seeing the resemblance. "Santiago is my uncle. Was my uncle."
"Are you going to tell me how you knew about Santiago?"
"I will when we get to the lab with Jess. I need her system to hear better."
"Remember I said we need to be careful who we trust?"
"Yeah."
"What if Jess is-"
"She's not. If so, she would have told about Sophia."
"Speaking of Sophia."
"I should just press the button and kill her already."
Griffin looked as if he was ready to snap my neck and I knew right then and there.
"You fucked her!"
"We were together and one thing led to another," He said, following me as I shut the storage door.
"So, naturally sleeping with her was the best thing?" I say while rolling my eyes as we walked to the car and just as I touched the handle, Griffin says,
"I'm not the only one sleeping with the enemy."
The drive to the lab was full of Griffin telling me about him and Sophia. They'd been hiding out at a place Santiago had set up for him, so he knew it was secure. But now that he's gone, I'm not sure how safe they are there. We arrived at the lab and he told me that we should only tell her what she needs to know and I thoroughly agreed.
"What, no bound woman in the trunk?"
"Very funny, Jess, but we're here off the record."
"No one can know we were here." Griffin chimes in.
"Whoa, what's going on? You guys are scaring me."
"I need you and your equipment to listen to a voicemail."
"Follow me."
Griffin and I followed Jess through the lab to a secured sound room. This is where Jess felt the most alive, here with her toys. The woman would make a hell of a hacker or a great agent for the FBI or CIA, but the darkness took her in as it did me.
I handed the phone over and we all put on headphones to listen to the recording. They didn't know what they were in for, but I sure as hell did. My heart was pounding and this time with the quality and clarity of the recording, I felt as if I was there with him.
"Scar, I need you to meet me, ASAP, at our location." We listen as Santiago sucks in a worried breath. "I love you, sobrina."
Griffin and Jess's eyes find me and I'm barely there with them because I'm with Santiago, I'm his last moment.
"There's a problem with the- who the fuck is at my door?"
We all listen to the shuffling of the phone and I instinctively prepare myself for what's to come.
"Ya voy!"
Bang!
They both jump at the sound, but I don't budge, not this time. The killer begins terrorizing his home as he searches for whatever he's looking for and then, clear as day, we all hear the killer's voice.
"Prima tua sorella ora tu."
My blood ran cold and I went frigid as I replayed the killer's words in my head. "First, your sister. Now, you."
If there ever was a doubt in my mind that the Lucianos hadn't killed her, it was gone now. I was raging with anger and I felt the urge to go back and kill Giovanni in cold blood and accept my death.
I left the sound room and immediately drew my gun. I sprinted down the hall and into the training room. I grabbed a set of the soundproof headphones and pressed the ammunition tester. As the targets came up, I shot them down just as quickly. Each shot for the years that have passed and the lives he took.
Griffin tapped my shoulder and my gun was pointed at his head in a matter of seconds. My heart was pounding and his hands were up in surrender. We both stood there for what seemed like an eternity before I lowered my gun.
"Scar, I'm not the enemy."
"I'm going to kill Giovanni." I stormed off, loading my gun and placing it into my waistband.
"He was with you last night wasn't he?"
I stopped in my tracks and not even once had I thought about that. Giovanni wasn't the killer, but it had to be someone he knew.
"That was one shot. That was an ordered hit. Either Giovanni pulled the trigger or he hired the man who did."
"Scar, wait!"
I heard Griffin calling out to me, but I didn't stop. I could only see red until Antonio came into my vision.