Page 89 of The Gangster King
Dante.
“Oh shit.” I grip the window frame, waiting for more gunshots. With each heartbeat, I wonder if he will kill my entire family.
Or me.
I knew he would go crazy, but I didn’t know how much.
Silence.
A few moments later, I hear vehicles speed away and slump, relieved. I don’t know who or what he shot but thank god, it’s over.
I know it’s not over.
I check the lock on my window and walk to the end of my bed, wondering if I should ring him. I don’t want anyone getting hurt. Dante needs to know it wasn’t right to kidnap me. Surely he understands that.
“Miss Baldoni. Miss!” One of the housekeepers says from my doorway. She’s cracked it open, which is breaking the household rules, but I can hear in her voice it's urgent.
“What is it, Emily?”
I walk over to the doorway where she holds up her phone and shows me the image.
“Who sent you that?” I demand, grabbing it.
Oh, my god.
“Simon. One of the guards at the gate...we’re...seeing one another.”
My eyes snaps to hers. “This is my driveway?”
She nods.
I shove the phone back in her arms, race back to my bed and grab my dressing gown, then run down the hall as I pull it over my shoulders.
My feet pound on the hard driveway as I run the long distance to the gates.
Leo is already there when I arrive.
“Go back to the house,” he orders, but I ignore him.
A couple more steps and I can see clearly the body and message drawn in blood. The same one on Emily’s phone.
“I said GO BACK TO THE HOUSE Addy,” Leo yells.
“NO!” I yell back, gripping the black bars on the gates.
There, in red against the white of the driveway, beside Jono’s body, are the words:
You Are Mine
I swallow.
It’s a message. A warning. A promise.
Jesus, he killed one of his best friends because of what I did. He knew this would destroy me.
I hear a sound escape my lips as my body slides to the ground. My arms take a little longer, still gripping the bars, and I twist awkwardly.
“Fuck.” Leo grabs me and lifts me into his arms. I quietly sob against his chest.