My heart comes to a momentary stop as I freeze up completely.

My body feels numb.

My senses dull.

His words ruin me.

“What?” I mutter, barely able to pronounce the word. My fingers tremble around the trigger as I fight to keep it together. Is it true? Or is he lying to save his ass?

A sudden flurry of rage overtakes me. “Don’t lie to me!” I scream.

“It’s not a lie,” he snorts. “I wish it was.”

“How? Where?” I’m frantic now, and my heart races in my throat.

“You could see him … right now,” he rambles. “But you won’t if you kill me.”

Of course, he’s trading this for his life. Playing with my feelings to get what he wants. The ultimate failure of revenge in exchange for the life of my son.

How cruel. How vicious. And something I should’ve seen coming.

My throat feels so dry I can barely speak. “Where is he?”

“I can give you the address and send a picture to your phone if you leave the premises.”

“No, I don’t believe you,” I hiss. “If I leave here, you’ll have your guards kill me.”

“No, I won’t. Where’s the fun in that?”

I mull it over for a few seconds. “What then? A standoff?”

He shrugs. “Well, it’s only fair.”

“Fuck fair,” I growl, pushing the gun back to his forehead. “You don’t deserve anything after what you did to my wife!”

“And what do you deserve, huh, Frank?” He grinds his teeth. “You killed my wife and my unborn son.”

The mere mention of her death forces me to feel the pain again, and it hurts.

“It was an accident …” I mutter.

“Accident or not, she died, and you paid the price. An eye for an eye.” The way he says it makes me wanna throw up in my mouth.

“You bastard … I should pull the trigger.”

“You could … but then you’d never get to know your son.”

I want to.

I want to so damn badly.

I want Julio to suffer. I want him gone. Erased from this planet.

Yet … I can’t … because my son might still be alive.

I have to know if it’s true. I have to see him.

“Tell you what; I’ll give you the address now … and when you leave the property, I’ll send you the picture. Deal?” Julio says, holding out his hand.

I make a face, thinking about it for a second. I don’t wanna make a deal with him. He’s the fucking devil. But if it means I’ll have the slightest chance of seeing my son … whom I thought was long dead … then it’s worth every bit of misery I’ll feel.

Just that one moment with him. I’d give my life for it.

I lower the gun and say, “Deal.”

I shake his filthy hand. The devious smile on his face makes me wanna rethink my decision. He grabs a notepad and writes down an address and a telephone number, ripping off the paper to hand it to me. “There. He’s at school now, so you’ll probably find him in the yard outside. My number’s also on there, so text me when you’re outside, and I’ll send you the picture.”

I tuck it into my pocket, still pointing the gun at him as I slowly back away. “If you don’t send that picture, I will kill each one of your guards, and then I’ll come back for you.”

“I know how you work, Frank. Do you think I’m that stupid?” He raises a brow and taps his fingers together. “Besides, I’m a man of my word. A deal is a deal.”

He’s right on that part. Julio’s always had a reputation for being trustworthy. Whatever that means in this underground business. Of course, once he’s sent the picture … there’s no telling what he’ll do now that I killed his men.

“Go on then … What’s stopping you?” Julio muses as he leans back in his chair, staring at me as I slowly inch backward, keeping my gun pointed at him.

“This isn’t over,” I say through gritted teeth, and then I storm out of his room.

I run down the stairs and go outside as quickly as I can, jumping up to the wall again. My shoulder stings from the painful jab, but I ignore it as I pull myself up and crawl over, jumping down in the alley below.

Rummaging in my pocket, I take out my phone and the note, typing in the number he gave me. I start walking as I text.

Frank: Give me the picture.

Julio: Here you go.

It takes a while to load, and the more time passes, the greater my excitement.

However, nothing can prepare me for the face appearing on my screen.

My jaw drops, and I almost walk into traffic. A loud horn makes me step back, my feet only just on the sidewalk as I stare at the phone in my shaking hand.

The boy … my boy …

It’s Bruno.