Angel's Mafia (gxg) ✓

XXVII | The Trenchcoat And The Noose

SIX HOURS LATER, WE'RE NO CLOSER to finding out where Maurizio died or how he even died.

We're looking through lists of the dead, bleary-eyed and half-asleep, even though it's almost nine, when a man in a black jacket bursts through the door.

Hidden by the towers of books, I appear to be the only one who notices at first. His hair is dark and slicked back, he's handsome enough that the librarian seems a little dazed, and he's talking with an Italian accent.

An Italian accent.

The realization strikes me as I notice the shape of a gun holster at his hip.

Instantly, I know who he is. A Genovese. Chasing us, from the other side of the world. Who shot at us last night, who killed Alessandro. Fury blazes in me, hot, fast. I want to walk up to him and-

I shake my head. What am I thinking? I've never been a violent person, but what the Genoveses have done to us . . . maybe they deserve it.

The librarian nods and points in our direction. The man sees me, and for a moment, our eyes lock as he strides towards our hidden corner.

Oh.

Shit.

"Dominic," I snap, shoving him. "Wake the fuck up. Where's your gun?"

He's too slow to respond, but Angel reacts instantly. She pulls out a Beretta and as soon as the Genovese turns the corner, she shoots him in the head.

I'm too stunned to scream.

"Look away, Cade," she says harshly.

There was no sound, nothing, so she must have a silencer on her gun. As the man sinks to his knees, already dead, Angel braces him. Blood leaks from his forehead, and she peels off his jacket and wraps it around his face. Hiding the evidence of his death.

I can't help it. I replay the moment, his eyes rolling back, the cold look in Angel's eyes as she pulled the trigger without hesitation, without knowing who was going to turn that corner.

She killed him. Right in the middle of the library.

I vomit all over the brown carpet.

Dominic grabs me roughly and drags me into the family bathroom. "Are you out of your mind?" he seethes.

I wipe my lips with my sleeve, tears in my eyes. I've seen two people killed in two days. I was supposed to help Angel find Crown Jewels. I wasn't supposed to be a part of this-this slaughter, this murder.

Once was enough. This . . . this is too much. Too fast.

"I-" I start, but Dominic presses me back onto the wall. Cold tile touches my back. I swallow the flavor of bile.

"What if you just go," he hisses. "Go and don't come back. Leave Angel alone. Leave me alone. Just get the hell away from here and don't tell anyone. I'll give you money, okay? Take it and get the fuck away. Go back to where you came from."

Stunned, I blink. Maybe Dominic and I haven't liked each other, but I thought maybe I had grown him.

Fueled by sudden anger, I say, "No. I'm a part of this, and you need me, whether you like it or not."