Mafia Betrayal

Chapter Twenty Five

Charlotte

"Charlotte, stop." Luca's tone was desperate, not at all harsh as he stood in the corner in the room holding a hand out to me. "You don't want to do this."

All I could focus on was Grant sitting in front of me. He seemed almost relieved at the prospect of me pulling the trigger. The smug grin on his face was enough to make me do it. All the bullshit he put us through flashed through my mind and, for a few minutes, I considered it. 

I bit back tears, going back and forth in my mind. Could I really kill someone? Could I really kill Grant? How could I stand here and want to do this with all my heart and still hate the lifestyle Luca has? I'd be no better.

I wanted Grant dead. Clearly, he had suffered for what he did, but I wanted reassurance that he was out of my life for my good. I felt so hurt and betrayed looking back at him, realizing how he played with me like I was some sort of pawn in his sick game against Luca. How he dragged my daughter into it. How he manipulated me, making me out to be such a fool. How he took whatever chance Luca and I had of working things out all those years ago and crushed them into a million pieces. I couldn't get those images out of my mind and I didn't know if I ever would. Dead or not.

"Char, come on." Marco coaxed, easing towards me from one side. "Just put the gun down."

I jerked towards him, pointing the gun in his direction. "Don't come any closer."

I was frantic, not thinking clearly in the slightest. The pounding of my heart was so loud it was about the only thing that I could hear as it echoed off the walls.

Marco lurched back. "Okay, okay. Easy."

What the hell was I doing? I barely knew how to work the damn thing; I certainly shouldn't be waving it around like I was. 

"Charlotte, look at me." Luca commanded, taking a small step forward. I wanted to tell him to stop, to stay away from me and let me do this, but with the stoic expression on his face, I couldn't bring myself to question him.

At first, I was too ashamed to look him in the eye. I was stripped down to nearly nothing emotionally, acting on pure impulse, and not caring about the ramifications right now. I knew I was acting irrationally, but I couldn't seem to stop.

Luca wasn't having any of that, though. His piercing eyes met mine and held them in an intense stare as he inched closer. "Give me the gun, Charlotte."

I shook my head back and forth wildly, still holding it out in front of me.

"Charlotte," His tone was so calm and commanding. "You don't want to do this. He's not worth it."

"I want him dead." My voice broke.

"And he will be, baby. But you've got to trust me. You don't want his blood on your hands. You pull that trigger, and you''ll never get it out of your head. Don't let him ruin another fucking thing for you."

I chewed on my lip, biting back fierce tears that were stinging my eyes. Luca crept closer, only a few feet from me now.

"Charlotte, you're too good for this. You always have been. Don't you dare let this animal drag in. I know you. You'll never forgive yourself for this." Luca tried to soothe. I could hear my heart beating out of my chest.

"This is precious." Grant chuckled. "Don't you see what he's doing to you? You're pointing a gun at my head, Charlotte. I'm a federal agent. You're a mother, for Christ's Sake. He's already dragged you into the underworld, and you're going to take Layla right down with you. How long do you think she'll survive in this world? Huh? Ten? Twelve?"

"Shut the fuck up." Luca hissed, seething towards Grant. I could tell he his clenched fists he wanted to hit him, but he still didn't trust me with the gun enough to make any sudden movements.

"Don't listen to him. He's trying to get in your head. He wants you to kill him. Can't you see that? If he pushes you to pull that trigger, it means he's won. Please, Char, I'm begging you. Just give me the gun."

Luca looked back at me in desperation, waiting for the slightest crack in my resolve.

I lowered the gun just slightly. "That's it, baby. Give me the gun."

If I handed it to him now, it would all be over. I could walk out of this room, knowing these men would finish Grant. They'd make him pay and this would all be over and my hands would be clean. Part of me wanted to be the one to pull the trigger, but Luca was right. If I killed him, it would haunt me for the rest of my life and he'd still have a grip on me.

Luca reached forward slowly, opening his palm in anticipation. "It's okay."

Reaching the gun out to Luca in concession, I squeezed my eyes shut. Somehow, the gun slipped out of my fingers and terror blanketed Luca's face the second it did. Instead of a smooth pass off, though, the gun fell between both of our hands, flipping end over end until it hit the cement floor. The sound was deafening, and everything felt like it was moving in slow motion.

"Down!" Luca bellowed, his powerful voice echoing off the walls. His body reached mine in an instant, roughly slamming both of us to the ground and pressing my face to the cool cement ground.

Angelo, Marco, and Carlo all got the ground around us as the gun went off, sending a bullet ricocheting off the walls. The ring of metal against cement was defeating, and I waited in terror for someone to scream.

After a few seconds, everything settled, and the noise stopped. Luca's weight was still heavy on top of me, and I was suddenly hyperaware of the way he had thrown his body over me to protect me from the stray bullet. 

"Is everybody okay?" His voice was muffled by the ringing in my ears. Damn, the hammer of the gun was deafening. 

I heard various responses and grunts before Luca finally lifted off of me, reaching frantically for the gun and unloading it before passing it off to Marco.

My whole body was shaking uncontrollably, and I sat up and leaned against the wall. What did I just do? My brain was so scrambled I could hardly focus enough to remember my own name. I felt like I was watching everything unfold from the outside, like I was outside of my own body and a bystander. Who was the woman who'd just done that? It certainly wasn't me. 

"Charlotte, look at me." Luca cupped my chin in his hand. "You're okay, you're in shock."

When I didn't answer, he sighed and turned back to where his men were standing. "I'm taking her home. Get this taken care of."

"Can you walk?" He asked me, holding his hand out to me.

I wasn't injured, but I was too nervous to move at the moment, fearing my legs might give out from under me. I almost killed someone. Not even just Grant, but that bullet could have hit anyone in this room. 

Luca grasped my hand and pulled me to my feet, giving me a once over to be sure I wasn't hurt. When I stood up, we stared at each other in silence for a moment, letting the weight of what had just happened settle around us. When I couldn't take it anymore, I burst into tears, so many emotions catching up to me. 

Luca's strong arms wrapped around my body, pulling me into him. I buried my face into his crest, sobbing out years' worth of tears that had finally reached their breaking point. My cries shook everyone in the room—Marco, Angelo and Carlo all looking on in sympathy.

"Shhh." Luca soothes, stoking my hair. "Everything is okay. I've got you."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." I wailed, clutching at his shirt as if he, too, might slip through my fingers. As if my life depended on it.

I didn't know exactly what I was apologizing for. There were so many things that I felt like putting a label on it was unnecessary. I was sorry for it all. For coming here today, for dropping the gun, for being so difficult the last few weeks despite Luca's attempts to make this nice for Layla and I. I was sorry I trusted Grant, that I let things get so far out of hand, for trying to change Luca when he was honest with me upfront about everything he was. I was sorry for leaving in the first place.

"It's okay." He whispered, his lips pressing to my ear "Everything is going to be just fine. You're safe, tesoro."