Page 96 of Deceitful Oath
“She’ll do as I say,” Vince hisses. “Because she’s working for me.”
“I won’t,” I protest, finally finding my voice. “I could never.”
“Shut up,” Vince says, yanking my arm to pull me closer to him. The gun presses into my temple painfully.
His eyes are wide and manic, on the edge of a total loss of control. “You see, the problem in this city is…there’s no one strong enough, or smart enough, to keep order.”
Rafael growls lightly but Vince holds up his hand, shushing him. “The Mancinis and the Romanos have been the top dogs for decades, using this city as their personal battlefield. All the while never paying enough attention to the important things: the money.”
“The money?” Rafael asks, momentarily caught off guard.
“That’s right,” Vince nods, his voice giddy, like he’s about to share his biggest secret. “I’ve been running games between the two families for years, setting up traps, stringing them along, all the while…I’ve been robbing them blind.”
He cackles, elbowing me like I’m supposed to join in on his twisted joke. I clench my teeth, not taking my eyes off Rafael. He’s slowly moving his hand in his pocket, cautiously trying to grasp at something. He shoots me a look, trying to communicate something, but I’m too panicked to understand.
“And now that all you idiots are out of the picture,” Vince continues dramatically, not noticing Rafael’s movements. “I have the resources and the human capital to run this town.”
“Seems like you’ve got it all figured out,” Rafael comments casually. “Let’s get this show on the road then.”
“Rafael, no!” I gasp.What the hell is he doing here?
“I love you, Luxy,” he says sadly, gazing deep into my eyes. I can see that he’s telling me to stay calm, that it’s all going to work out.
“I love you, Wolfie,” I sob out, the trembling in my hands making the gun bounce around dangerously. Vince grabs it to steady it, shooting me a dark look.
“Don’t even think of doing something stupid,” he hisses at me. “Shoot the fucker already.”
“I can’t,” I sob. Tears spill out of my eyes and down my face, clouding my vision. My heart beats wildly, like a war drum pounding in the heat of battle. “I can’t do it.”
“Do it, or I will,” Vince snaps, tightening his grip on me. “Either way, you’re both going to die.”
I take a deep breath, my fingers tightening around the gun. My gaze is focused on Rafael’s hand, where he’s subtly moving his fingers. My eyes snap up to meet his, finally understand what he’s been trying to tell me the whole time.
“Fine,” I seethe, cocking the gun. “I’ll fucking do it.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Rafael
I watch in horror as Lux raises the gun, pointing it squarely at my forehead.
A million thoughts rush through me, doubt entangled with rage and fear, as she cocks the gun. I know she’s never handled a weapon before, and I can only pray this goes off without a hitch—otherwise, I’m a dead man.
She was staring at my hand earlier, trying to figure out what I was communicating to her.
I tried to stall for as long as possible, listening to Vince’s deranged story of how he’s going to run the city when I’m dead. She must have finally understood—that, or she’s really about to kill me and end this all.
Either way, if this is the last thing I see before I die, I’ll be a happy man.
My gaze roves across her face—those delicate cheekbones, thick lashes framing two deep pools of blue, her rosy lips.
I commit it all to memory, hoping I can bring it to the afterlife with me, if there is one. The worst thing in the world would be to die and never relive the way Lux made me feel.
“I love you, sunshine,” I whisper, trying to gauge her response. I think about her shower spiders and the turkey she saved from the cruel farmer. She can’t even step on ants. This woman isn’t going to shoot me.
Unless she accidentally does because she’s never held a fucking gun in her life.
“Do it already,” Vince screams, his face distorted with anger. A vein throbs in his forehead, making him look completely unhinged. He’s not going to hold on much longer without snapping.