Snapping Point||Book 1

66.

Romano De Rossi.

Xenia crumbled to the floor on all fours, shuddering with fear. Morelli hadn't aimed to shoot her, only to frighten her.

"Two bullets, because I don't want this dragging on," Morelli commanded, passing me the revolver. "You know what to do."

Damn it. He was going to roulette this? There was no way I'd gamble with Xenia's life for his amusement. What had she done to deserve this now?

My mind raced, but there was no clear way out.

Fear crept up on me, but I maintained my calm. "How are we playing it?" Asking with full-on composure, I unloaded the gun, not that it made that much of a difference. There was no way I'd pull the trigger on her without reloading it myself to at least manipulate the odds.

An eight-chamber revolver with two bullets meant a one in four chance of it firing. If I could clump the bullets together, the first pull might just miss them, significantly lowering the odds of hitting a bullet on the next round. I had to keep control, no matter how slim the odds seemed. Each pull meant a 75% chance of survival—enough for me to take the risk and stall for time.

"With each answer she misses," Morelli inputted. "I want her to learn a lesson the hard way."

Fair enough, but it was extremely risky to involve innocent women I personally cared about in gambling games.

My fingers brushed her chin after loading the bullets into the chamber. "I'll be giving it another spin," I said with a chilling tone, even though I knew it was harsh.

Xenia's skin was smooth and tender, and it made the nerves under my skin shudder to feel the texture. I'd rather be on top of her than in front—for obvious reasons.

"Wrap your lips around the barrel," I commanded, fingers crossed as she complied with a trembling lower lip.

A few tears trickled down her cheeks, her sniffles filled with dread. Her father had died with a gun in his mouth. It was cruel of me to expose her to such a fate, especially after she had confided everything to me. Especially after I promised to protect her.

I was despicable.

"Since you've been under my command, have you ever double-crossed the TIF?" My initial question must have rattled her nerves, I wagered. Keeping it terse, direct, and tough made her swallow hard and shake her head slowly.

I waited next for Morelli's command, fingers steady on the trigger. If he realized I was poised to act at any moment, he might be convinced I hadn't betrayed him to protect her previously. He might believe she wasn't the same woman from that night.

"Next question," he said, and a barely perceptible wave of relief washed over me. This man fancied himself a human lie detector, didn't he? Well, years of interrogating both the innocent and guilty must have given him that confidence.

"Did Romano kill your sister, or are you both lying to protect him?"

This was where things took a dire turn, indeed. My ability to predict Xenia's actions wasn't so sharp that I could gamble on her risking her life for mine. If she cracked, it was all over. Everything.

My gaze warned her to stick to the plan. We couldn't afford any mistakes in our act.

"Speak! How did you know she was dead? Where did you hear it from?"

Removing the gun from her mouth, I urged her to talk. My heart raced as I saw fear in her eyes. I had undoubtedly terrified her. After tonight, I wouldn't blame her if she never wanted to see me again. But if I could explain, I'd tell her everything I did was to protect her, albeit selfishly.