“Angelo… I don’t get it,” I said, my stomach swirling at just the mere mention of Benny’s name. It was a face I couldn’t forget. While it was Tobia’s voice I could hear in my dreams taunting me, it was Benny’s face, the way he delighted in causing Sophie so much pain, the way he smacked her, choked her—destroyed her.

I felt tears well in my eyes as I looked up at Angelo.

He grabbed my hand again, it felt so hot in mine which were chilly and cold in the frigid night air.

The low rumble of a train had me looking around, wondering if we were going to be run over as we skipped across a few tracks. When he pulled me to a stop, I had to blink and squint my eyes as the headlights of a car beamed straight at me.

Three figures stood there, silhouetted against the light. Nerves twisted my stomach in painful knots as I tried to get a good look at who they were.

I instantly regretted it, nausea hit me like a brick.

I could see in his eyes the moment he realized he’d fucked up. It was a mixture of complete horror and guilt. It brought me little pleasure to see Samuele push him to his knees as Angelo pulled me closer. I tried to dig my heels in, but the loose stones and gravel gave me no traction. We pulled to a sudden stop, Benny looking up at us from the ground.

“I believe the two of you have met before,” Angelo sneered, venom in his words.

Benny looked at him with complete and utter fear in his eyes. “I didn’t... I don’t…”

My hand gripped tightly to Angelo’s. I struggled to find my breath, staring at this man who had taken so much pride in breaking Sophie down. He raped her, and for all I know, this was the last fucking face she saw, the last memories she held.

She didn’t deserve that.

Her soul was so sweet, so fucking beautiful. Like no one I’d ever met.

I felt the tears dripping onto my cheeks.

“Emerson,” Angelo growled. “You’re allowing him to force those emotions on you, you’re letting yourself be overcome with sadness. You think he deserves to stand up and walk out of here alive?”

I snapped my head to look at him in disgust. “No!”

Here I was, saying I wanted this man to be killed. I wanted to take his life away, and I knew if I asked Angelo to, that he would without question. This was the world I’d been thrown into, one where lies and attacks on a person didn’t just garner jail time. No, you paid in money, pain, or your life.

And it was weird to admit, but as I looked down at Benny and his wide eyes, I realized I was fucking okay with that. If he were arrested, he’d go to jail, and in a few years be out again, living his life.

And my sister?

Would still be dead!

Benny’s eyes flicked between Angelo and me, not knowing where to look, or possibly, not knowing who to beg for his life. Oddly, that lifted me a little, forced my shoulders back and my chin up. I shook off the tears that had already slipped out, and while the nausea was still twisting and turning inside me, it wasn’t so much now about the memories. It was more to do with the sick ideas that were running through my brain—all the ways to make Benny pay.

“You goddamn piece of shit,” I snapped suddenly, lurching forward and causing Benny to cower. Angelo caught me around the waist, holding me tightly against him as I tried to breathe, feeling like I was having an anxiety attack. “You killed her! You hurt her you bastard,” I cried out, bathing in the fury that was building in my veins.

Samuele and Daniel held him in place even as he fought against them, desperately wanting to run and escape the consequences that he knew were about to come.

I was surprised at how good it felt to be there in that moment. I wasn’t sobbing, allowing the memories to break me down or hurt me. Instead, I felt like they were motivation. I wanted to remember just how much pain Benny had caused my sister. I wanted to remember how he’d raped her and the way she’d fought back against him even though she had no chance at winning. I could see myself there too, crumbling at the feet of Tobia as he laughed and forced blame on my shoulders, knowing that it would eat me alive.

I had sobbed and cried and vomited all over the floor because of the utter devastation that those men had put me through. I had broken and felt like there was no coming back.

Sophie was gone.

Her life gone.

But in that moment, I heard her voice in my head.

 

She grinned, her perfectly white teeth and bright red lipstick lighting up the room. “Go for the jugular, Emmy. If they’ve done you wrong, you make sure they know it.”

 

I inhaled her words, letting them flow through me and fill my lungs.

Placing my hands over Angelo’s, I squeezed them softly, letting him know that he could release me. His arms slowly slipped away, but only as far as my hips, resting his hands there lightly. I looked over my shoulder to where Andre was, watching the situation carefully, perfectly calm as always. “Andre, do you have a crowbar?”

His eyes brightened, and a smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth, amusement dancing in his eyes. “Sure do, beautiful.” He jogged back to the car, humming softly to himself.

“Now, Benny,” Angelo said, taking control of the situation. “I really don’t like it when people fuck me around with their lies and goddamn bullshit.” Heat radiated from Angelo’s chest, and I found myself leaning back into him. His thumb softly stroked my hip, dipping under my jacket and T-shirt to touch my skin. I shivered. That soft light touch on my body, sending tingles shooting everywhere. The both of us stood there together, a statue of strength, poise, and vengeance.

“You have a chance to redeem yourself here,” Angelo warned. “So think about the words that are coming out of your filthy mouth.”

Benny bobbed his head. “Yes…”

“Where is Tobia?”

I heard Andre move up beside me, a large crowbar tossed over his shoulder and the widest grin on his face that I’d ever seen. I couldn’t stop the sadistic smile that crept up my face as I imagined the damage that one crowbar could cause to a human body.

“I don’t know,” Benny answered, his voice shaking.

Angelo tsked his tongue, shaking his head back and forth. “Strike one, Benny boy.”

Benny’s head looked around wildly as he waited for someone to make a move. Angelo stepped to the side, looking down at me with an intensity that I couldn’t even begin to explain. He didn’t just make me feel safe, he made me feel strong, like there was nothing that I couldn’t fight through.

“There’s no going back after this, Emerson,” he warned seriously, his eyes searching mine for any reason to pull me away and hide me from what was about to happen.

I didn’t blink, standing with my shoulders firm and straight. I was going to prove to him, and to myself and every other damn person in the world, that I wasn’t weak. I was going to take my life back, make my own decisions, and get redemption for Sophie. I wasn’t sitting back anymore, I was in control.

After he was satisfied, I saw his eyes light up. Pride maybe?

Andre held out the crowbar. “First up to bat, Emerson Rossi,” he said in amusement.

I licked my lips, taking a deep breath as I took the heavy bar from his hands. It was big and weighed a fucking lot, but I tried to make it look like I wasn’t struggling.

“You know back in the day, the mafia used to do this thing called kneecapping. Where you shoot or damage the knee. It’s meant to be one of the most painful places to get hurt,” Andre continued to explain.

“No!” Benny screamed as he fought against Samuele and Daniel who were struggling to drag him to his feet. “No, no, no, no…”

“That’s just what Sophie said… yet did you stop?” I spat, pulling the crowbar back, ready to swing, not even waiting for a second to consider the consequences of what I was doing. I let the anger take over. All I could see was him pounding into Sophie as she begged for him to stop, blood everywhere, the weak sound of her voice sending chills through me.

“Fuck you!” I yelled as I brought it forward. Daniel jumped back, the hooked end barely missing his legs while it connected with Benny’s just fine. His knee made an unusual sound, like the snap of a tree branch under too much weight.

His screams followed, Samuele and Daniel releasing him as he collapsed onto the stony ground, writhing in pain and shaking. “Fuck! Oh my God,” he yelled, tears pooling in his eyes as he wiggled around like a worm, the stones and gravel crunching around him. He cursed and yelled and cried out in pain, and to be honest, it made me feel fucking good. Warmth spread through me as my heart thumped like crazy in my chest, almost matching the sound of the train as in chugged away at the end of the track.

I almost felt high, like I was floating above my body, watching the scene play out.

Angelo stepped around him, that predatory energy radiating from him again. I could feel the storm building, and I was standing strong, not allowing it to touch or drag me down. I felt so powerful and strong, so much so that I could be the storm. I didn’t feel weak any longer, I stood my ground, I felt what it was like to take back my life, to take the pain and anguish that I felt and not just tell him how I feel, but show him exactly what kind of destruction he had caused. It breathed life into me.

As I watched Angelo, I could see in the darkness of his eyes that he wasn’t done.

His playful nature from when we were in the car was gone, he’d allowed the shadows to swallow him whole, and I knew that Benny had more pain to endure.

This was just the beginning.

He wasn’t leaving here with his life.

And that made me fucking smile.

Karma’s a bitch.