Darkest Sins - Page 111

“Yes,” he says when his eyes meet mine again. “You’re absolved of any further obligations to Cosa Nostra. I’ll make sure everyone in the Family is informed.”

“Not good enough, Massimo. I want a written statement that I’m not considered a part of the Family anymore. And I want every capo’s signature at the bottom.”

“You want Cosa Nostra to officially disown you? That’s never been done, Nera. Not in Boston, at least.”

“I don’t care. You promised me full freedom. I won’t settle for anything less.”

Massimo crosses his arms at his chest—the action threatens to burst the seams of his suit jacket because of his bulging biceps—and narrows his eyes at me. He doesn’t like my terms, but he won’t dare break his word.

“Fine,” he says.

The burden that has been crushing me for the past four years dissolves and vanishes with my next breath. I’m finally free.

“Are you going to stay here, or return to Nuncio’s house?” he asks.

“I’m not staying here a second longer than necessary. And you can have my father’s house if you want.” I squeeze Kai’s hand. “My family has different plans.”

“All right. I’ll transfer the amount for the value of the home to your account. Will you tell me where you’ll go?”

“Maybe,” I say. It won’t be easy to forgive him for what he has made me do.

“Very well. Let’s go see Armando now and wrap everything up. From what I heard, you were too busy to question him.”

I don’t bother asking how he knows about Armando. Even locked up, Massimo has always had a way of being well aware. I turn around to head inside, but Kai’s hand slips from mine. I look over my shoulder and find Kai standing in front of Massimo, his hand wrapped around my stepbrother’s throat.

“The only reason you’re not bleeding out on this threshold is because, for a reason I can’t fathom, my wife still cares about you. Even after everything she had to endure while your ass was locked up.” His voice is low and threatening. “Be careful, because if that ever changes, I’m going to find you and rip out your fucking throat.”

The corners of Massimo’s lips curl upward.

“I see you’ve chosen the right man, sis. I guess I won’t have to worry about you anymore.” He takes Kai’s wrist and moves his hand away. “Let’s go see Armando.”

When we get down to the basement, the stink of urine and other bodily fluids hits me like a hammer. I press my palm over my mouth and nose and take a peek from behind Kai’s back. The capo is lying on his side, his limbs at unnatural angles to his body. His eyes are open but empty, staring into nothing at all.What looks like white foam is smeared around his mouth and has slid to the ground around his head.

“Dead?” I ask.

“Yes.” Kai crouches next to the body and presses his palm to Armando’s ghostly white face. “Cold. Considering the temperature in this room and the fact that rigor mortis is still present, he was killed during the night.” He tilts Armando’s head up, observing the foam around his mouth. “Poisoning. Cyanide most likely.”

“It wasn’t you?” Massimo asks as he comes to stand next to Kai.

“Death by cyanide ingestion is not overly pleasant, but much faster than what I had planned for the motherfucker. Someone sneaked in last night and killed him so he wouldn’t talk.” Kai rises and faces my stepbrother. “We’re leaving within an hour. This is your shit now, and you’re going to sort it out real fast. If I catch even a tiny grumble that anyone from Cosa Nostra has mentioned my wife’s name, in any way, you’re dead.”

“This is a Family matter,” Massimo growls, his eyes swiveling back to the body. “As soon as it’s announced that Nera is no longer a member and I have taken over, whoever wanted her out of the picture will switch their attention to me.”

“Perfect.” Kai takes my hand. “Let’s go pack Lucia’s and your things, baby.”

***

“Can we have ducks at our new house?” Lucia chirps from my arms.

“Yes,” Kai says as he puts the last of my suitcases in the trunk. I want to leave this dreadful place as soon as possible, so I’ve only packed my and Lucia’s clothes and some toys. Someone can send us the rest of our things later.

“And pigs? I love pigs!”

My demon throws me a concerned glance. I just smile and shrug.

“If we have to,” he says and reaches to take Lucia from me. “Where’s your sister?”

“She’s probably still packing,” I say, turning to look at the front door just as Zara steps out. Massimo is right behind her, carrying her suitcases. “Are you ready to go, Zara?”