Page 5 of Endless Obsession
Tonight, it was my time to become a man. Their opportunity would come soon enough.
The captive man was rail thin, with visible track marks on his skinny arms. His dirty clothes hung loose on his scrawny frame, but I couldn’t see his face. Someone had shoved a black hood over his head, and, judging by the muffled sounds coming from beneath it, he was gagged.
Cesare Salerno loomed behind his captive, cold black eyes glinting with amusement at the man’s predicament. His thin lips were stretched into a semblance of a smile, but there was no warmth behind it. In his impeccably tailored suit, he might’ve passed for a suave gentleman, if you didn’t look too closely at his maniacal expression.
We all knew to tread carefully around the notorious sadist and sociopath, who was renowned for making his enemies suffer before they died. He was a powerful man, and one day, he would probably be head of the clan. He was vicious and ruthless, with a cruel streak that made him one of the most feared men in Le Vele.
Salerno’s dark eyes flashed beneath the spare lightbulb that barely illuminated the concrete space, his inhuman gaze cutting straight into my soul. “I have a job for you, Massimo.”
“Anything,” I replied eagerly, ready to carry out any task he demanded of me. This was the first time I’d ever been alone with Salerno—well, alone except for his captive. He’d called me down here, and I’d known that this was my chance to make an impression. To become one of his brothers in blood. I would get out of this shitty bar, out of this shitty neighborhood. Gian and Enzo would get out with me. We’d made a pact, and none of us would leave the others behind.
Salerno fisted the hood and jerked it off his captive’s head. Just as I’d suspected, the man was gagged, a dirty length of cloth drawn tightly between his yellowed teeth. Sweat drenched his sun-weathered brow, and his eyes were wild with panic.
“Do you know this man?” Salerno asked.
I studied his fear-twisted features. “No.”
Salerno gripped the man’s hair, yanking his head back so that I could see his face clearly. “Look at him. Memorize his face. Burn it into your mind.”
I nodded, obeying. I studied the dirty man as though he was an insect I would grind beneath my boot.
“You’re going to kill him.” Salerno’s cold command froze the blood in my veins.
My heart stuttered, but I kept my face impassive. I’d never killed anyone before. I waved a gun around to get people’s attention when I needed to, and occasionally, I drew blood with my knife. But I always avoided killing.
My mother’s empty, caramel eyes flickered through my mind, the memory of her final look of horror tormenting me.
I straightened my shoulders and faced Salerno.
“Why?” I asked, jerking my chin at the bound man. “What did he do?”
A hint of a smirk played around the corners of Salerno’s mouth. He was enjoying this.
“You’ll never know. You’ll kill him because I ordered you to. Won’t you, Massimo?” The last was a snake’s challenging hiss.
My mind churned, and I struggled to force down the macabre images of my parents’ dead bodies. They’d been innocent, and the gang had gunned them down for no reason.
I’d forsaken my father’s pacifism long ago, but the prospect of turning into the same kind of monster who’d murdered him turned my blood cold.
I tipped my chin back and met Salerno squarely in the eye, knowing better than to show a moment of weakness. “And if I don’t?”
With the swiftness of a striking viper, he drew the gun that was holstered at his side. It trained directly on my heart, and I stopped breathing.
“Then you’ll die tonight instead.”
I swallowed hard, but I kept my shoulders straight. “I don’t know this man. Why should I kill him? He hasn’t wronged me.”
“This isn’t about right and wrong,” Salerno sneered. “This is about loyalty. This is about doing what you’re told. Only one of you is leaving this basement. You get to choose who is breathing when we’re finished here. It’s you or him. Camorrista or death. You want to be one of us, don’t you?”
“Yes.” My answer was immediate and vehement. I’d longed for this moment of acceptance. I just hadn’t realized what I’d have to do to earn it.
“Then prove it,” he snapped. “I’m getting bored, and I might just shoot you both if you keep asking stupid questions.”
He was still pointing the gun at my chest, but I knew better than to hesitate. I boldly strode toward him, closing the distance between us in smooth strides. I took even breaths and willed my hand not to shake as I lifted it to accept the weapon.
He offered me a savage grin and gave me the gun. My fingers felt numb, but I’d handled a weapon often enough that I could hold it by muscle memory.
I stepped in front of the bound man and pressed the barrel to his forehead, right between his eyes. I could at least make this quick for him.