Revenge (19 page)

“Get off her!” He wanted to strangle
Andretti, but he could barely move his arms.

Andretti pointed the gun at him. “Lay back
and watch with your mouth shut. I already told her I’d kill you if
she screamed for help. The same applies to you, only I’ll stick
this gun up her cunt when I pull the trigger.”

Enrico’s stomach cramped. He should have had
a panic button added to his room when Strasser suggested it. “How
did you get in here?” He pitched his voice low so Andretti wouldn’t
try anything.

Andretti laughed. “There’s a snake in your
family.”

Dom was right; there was a traitor.
“Who?”

“Don’t matter since you’ll be dead soon.”

Enrico struggled against the ropes.
“
Vaffanculo
!”

Andretti raised his brows and shook his head.
“Fuck you? No way. But the whore here”—he caressed Kate’s cheek
with the gun—“I’ll certainly fuck her. You just get to watch.”

Kate struggled against Andretti. “Vince, stop
it. You’re not a rapist. This isn’t
you
.”

“Ain’t it?” he asked. “I changed, you said
it. And you made me this way.”

“You’re blaming
me
?”

“You act like a whore, you’re gonna get
treated like one.”

As Andretti’s hand moved toward Kate’s
breast, Enrico detected some give to the ropes binding his wrists.
It wasn’t much, but maybe it was enough. He went to work. The look
on Andretti’s face said he’d stop playing any minute. And then he
and Kate would be dead.

Vince squeezed Kate’s breast hard, making her
cry out in pain. He smiled, his eyes alight with cruelty.
Adrenaline arced up her spine, and she couldn’t control her
breathing. It was the same look he’d had at the office, the day
he’d attacked her. He’d kill her, then he’d kill Enrico. And this
time Enrico couldn’t help. She’d tried to leave some slack when
Vince made her tie him up. Vince hadn’t noticed anything when he
double-checked her work; maybe she’d still tied Enrico too tightly
to make a difference.

Vince squeezed her breast a second time, his
fingers clawing into her, and she gasped again. “You like
that?”

“I hate you.”

“We got to work on your attitude.” He lowered
his mouth to her breast and bit down hard. The pain sliced deep;
she couldn’t stop the shriek that tore out of her. Vince clamped
his hand over her mouth. When he raised his head, there was blood
on his lips. Stomach acid raced up into her throat, and she had to
suck in air through her nose to keep from vomiting.
Oh God
,
oh God
,
oh God. What am I going to do
?

His fist slammed into her head just above her
ear. “Shut up!” He pointed his gun—the Beretta Storm, his
favorite—in Enrico’s direction. “Need a reminder?” She shook her
head, and he removed his hand from her mouth. Licking the blood off
his lips, he leaned closer. “Enjoying yourself?” When she said
nothing, he laughed. “That’s better, bitch.” He raised himself up
and pried her legs apart.

Hell no.
Kate bucked wildly and
clasped her tied hands together, bringing them down in a clenched
fist on Vince’s cheek. His head snapped up, and he struck her twice
across the face, hard blows that made her head swim. “Knock it off
or Lucchesi bites it.”

Sobbing, Kate collapsed onto the rug. She
couldn’t risk him shooting Enrico. Vince set the gun down and
yanked her legs farther apart, then unbuckled his belt. She closed
her eyes, not wanting to see what was happening. When his cock
touched her entrance, her whole body shuddered in rebellion.
This is not going to happen.
Raking her nails across Vince’s
face, she aimed for his eyes, her bitten breast throbbing. He
needed to hurt.

“Christ!” Vince pressed a hand against the
wound below his left eye and reared back. He raised his other hand
to slap her, and Kate saw her death on his face. As soon as he was
finished with her, the fatal blow would come. She had to stop him.
But how?

A sound behind her attracted Vince’s
attention, and she tilted her head to look over her shoulder.
Enrico had freed his hands and had his gun pointed at Vince.
Thank God.
Vince grabbed the Beretta from where he’d placed
it beside her and sat back, yanking her up against him, using her
body as a shield.
Fucking coward
. Kate kept her eyes on
Enrico. He swung his bound legs over the edge of the bed and took
aim again.

Vince raised his arm, pointing his gun at
Enrico.
No
! Kate threw herself hard to the left, knocking
Vince off-balance and pulling him forward. Both men fired at the
same time, and she heard a heavy thud behind her.
Enrico
!
“Kate!” Enrico yelled, his voice thick with worry.

“I’m okay!” Vince fell on top of her, blood
pouring from his right shoulder. Pushing and twisting, Kate
scrabbled out from under Vince and elbowed him hard in the chest,
knocking the wind out of him. Though her tied hands were clumsy,
she snatched the Beretta from his weakening hold. Scrambling to her
feet, she pointed the gun down at him and flexed both hands around
the Storm, trying to hold it steady. “Fuck you, Vince.” Her voice
trembled as much as her hands.

Vince leered up at her. “Aww Katie, you still
want to be my pretty little whore?”

Her finger quivered on the trigger guard, and
she adjusted her grip again, taking a shaky breath. Could she
really pull the trigger? Or should she let the police deal with
him? “Call me a whore all you want, but you’re a gangster, Vince.
You’re scum.”

He laughed, but it ended in a wince. “And
Lucchesi ain’t? He’s one of the big bosses. Why you think my uncle
hates him so much?”

“What?” Kate looked behind her at Enrico, who
was untying his feet. When Vince’s fingers wrapped around her
ankle, her stomach lurched like a car on black ice. She’d done
exactly what he wanted.

Vince jerked her leg out from under her. She
fell to the other knee. “No!” she screamed and squeezed the
trigger, firing two rounds into the base of Vince’s throat just as
Ruggero burst through the door, gun drawn.

Kate swung around and aimed the Beretta
square at Enrico, ignoring Ruggero, even though his gun was no
doubt trained on her.

Enrico cried out for Ruggero to stop. Why was
he so sure she wouldn’t shoot him? Kate glanced at Ruggero. His gun
was indeed pointed at her, but she didn’t lower the Storm. Enrico
was going to tell her the truth; a gun in the face would ensure it.
“What was Vince talking about? Who
are
you?”

He left his Glock on the floor, then stood
up. Skirting her and Vince, he crossed the room until he was
between Ruggero and her, his eyes holding hers. When Ruggero moved
to get an unobstructed sightline on her, Enrico turned to look at
him, his voice angry. “Leave us.”

“I can’t. She has a gun on you.”

Enrico stepped closer to her, blocking
Ruggero’s sightline again, but he was careful to keep his hands
half-raised. “Kate, Vincenzo would say anything to drive a wedge
between us.”

Had Vince lied? He’d certainly meant to trick
her. And he’d hated her. She looked down at his bleeding body and
burst into sobs. Her hands started to shake, almost completely out
of her control, and she put up the Beretta, letting it rest against
her shoulder. Enrico slowly closed the distance between them.

She was sobbing full out now, scaring
herself. She let Enrico take the Storm from her hands. He handed it
to Ruggero as he folded her in his arms. The sudden heat of his
body told her how cold she was. And naked. In front of Ruggero. She
shivered. “What have I done? Oh God.” Her voice sounded broken to
her ears.

“Shh. It is all over, Kate. It is all over.”
Enrico cradled her close, stroking her hair. He looked at Ruggero
over his shoulder. “Go. Now. Call the
polizia
.”

The gun still kicked in her hands, Vince’s
blood still spattered her face, her arms, her chest. Her mind was
still consumed by the coldness and determination that had filled
her with one purpose—stopping Vince, one way or another.

She looked at his body again, the blood so
red, so thick, a dark pool spreading across the carpet. Had she
really done it? It seemed a dream, surreal, unreal. She never
imagined she was capable of killing. But the way Vince had stared
at her without seeing her—he wouldn’t have stopped until she was
dead. Until Enrico was dead.

She nestled closer to Enrico, then brought
her shaking hands up to wipe her eyes. She jerked back when she saw
the blood speckling her hands. Vince’s blood.

Kate stared at the droplets for a few
moments. Her tears dried up. She’d made the only logical choice. It
was him or them. This was all Vince’s doing, he’d set it all in
motion. She was merely the instrument of his destiny.

“Are you okay?” Enrico pulled a blanket off
the bed and wrapped it around her. Then he worked on untying her
hands.

“No. But I think I’m a little better.” She
watched him work at the knots.

“This is all my fault, I should have taken
extra precautions—”

“The one at fault is Vince.” He finished
untying her and she rubbed at her wrists, glad to be free.

“I feel responsible.” He faltered, his voice
thick. “I swore I would protect you.”

Something inside her hardened. “Get over it.”
Enrico looked startled. She pushed away from him. “You can’t
protect me. No one can. I need to face that.” She took a deep
breath. “I’m still a dead woman. Now it’s Carlo who’ll want my
head.”

“He will need to take mine first.” His eyes
were dark with anger.

Kate gestured around them. “How are you going
to protect me? What good are all the guards? Someone close to you
wants you dead. Who the hell can we trust?”

That was the question
,
wasn’t
it
? Enrico shook his head. “I do not know. But I will find out
who is responsible.”

“We’re both
dead
, Enrico. We just
don’t know it yet.” He reached for her shoulder and she pushed him
away.

He tried again, not allowing her to shake him
off. “We
will
survive this.” He waited a beat, then said,
“Vincenzo is dead. Just one more to deal with, yes?”

She shook her head. “Two. Carlo and whoever
told Vince how to get in here.”

He had a hard decision to make. He needed
someone he could trust, someone in addition to Kate. But who?

Ruggero knocked on the door. “The
polizia
are on the way,” he shouted.

Kate jumped at the knock. “I need a
shower.”

“Wait. The police will want evidence….” He
trailed off. Had she been raped? An ache gripped his throat. “From
your body,” he finally said.

She hugged herself and tears filled her eyes.
“I
need
a shower.”

His chest tightened. There was no choice.
“You must not. You killed him. They will need physical proof of
what happened. That
he
did it. He was your husband, but you
are here in my home, in my bed. His actions will need to justify
yours.”

“I want my clothes then.” Her voice vibrated
with anger.

He gathered them up and offered them to her
before he dressed himself. He didn’t know what to say.

The sing-song sirens of approaching emergency
vehicles intruded on the silence between them. Within minutes,
medics, police officers, and forensic investigators filled the
bedroom. The medics checked Vince for vitals and pronounced him
dead. Forensic techs took over, taking pictures and samples.

A police officer approached them, asked their
names, took an initial statement from Enrico, then told them to
wait.

Kate watched the activity around them in a
daze, Enrico’s arms wrapped around her, his chest pressed against
her back. As she looked at Vince’s lifeless body, her anger
abruptly gave way to sorrow. She placed her hands on Enrico’s
forearms.