Page 36 of Odin

“Did no one teach you when to shut up?” If he had just been quiet, I would have made this quick.

He laughed, like he thought he had the upper hand. “Serena gave me her virginity. She was sowing some wild oats before she had to suffer with you.”

“See Luca, the problem is your opinion of yourself is greater than how other people actually see you. You think you’re getting under my skin, but you’re not. I am aware you raped my wife. You honestly thought she'd do your bidding, and when she didn't, you tried to blackmail her. I figure she was your first victim before you went on this bender."

"You won't do shit to me. This is just a scare tactic. I am a cop, bitch, and you're assaulting an officer."

I stood at the side of the bed and pulled his hair, forcing him to look up at me. “This is how it goes down. You were on an undercover assignment, and unfortunately, it just became too much for you to handle. You cracked under the pressure. It won't take much to get people to believe that. Your mother should have swallowed you.

“Since you’re such a disappointment, you’ve turned to sex and drugs as coping mechanisms. The whores coming in and out of this building will make that one believable. If anyone asks them, I am sure they’ll have stories to tell, especially the ones you tied up without their consent.

“You went through all the women on the block, and then you had to turn to drag queens for the same high. I didn’t have to plan that one. You gave it to me for free. I wouldn't have messed with the queens if I were you. They're clannish, and once word hit the street, they warned everyone in their community about you.” I shrugged, like it made no difference to me. It really didn’t.

"This is all really touching, but we're rapidly approaching the end of story time. Whores weren't enough, so you exchanged sex for drugs with the addict next door. However, he took your money and bought a hot shot from the wrong dealer. Dead assoon as it touched his veins." I leaned in like I was telling him a secret. “I didn’t even have to do that,” I said, winking at him.

I slammed him face-first back into the bed. It was uncomfortable for him, but there was no actual damage done.

"Don't worry. I told Serena that I would have revenge in her name, and the God of War never breaks a promise to her."

I flipped Carazzo over, so that he was lying on the bar with his knees bent at an awkward angle and his feet curled underneath him. "Whatever the fucker next door bought must have been some good shit. When I found him, he still had half a vial left. It was sticking out of his arm. Lovers share things, so I thought, why wouldn't this be any different?"

When I'd found the neighbor, the syringe had been still sticking out of his arm. I didn't have a clue what it was, but the idea had stuck with me. What better way to take out the cop than with his fuck buddy's hot shot? I wasn't taking unnecessary precautions, though. The next time I'd arrived at the apartment, I'd come prepared. With multiple pairs of gloves on, I'd pulled the syringe from his arm and capped the needle, throwing the whole thing in a biohazard bag with the tourniquet.

I made sure I had Carazzo's attention as I made a show of opening my flannel and pulling the bag from my pocket. I waved it at him and smiled like I'd just won the fucking lottery.

The tears streamed down his face as he realized I was dead serious. "Please, they made me do it. Cordelia said that if she wasn’t a virgin, Lorenzo wouldn’t be able to get a good contract for her. It would weaken him because she’s his only daughter and his son is gay.”

Sergio was gay? He'd protected his secret, and it made sense why he was going through the motions. He didn't want anyone to question why he wasn't loyal to the family and stumble upon his orientation. It didn't make a difference to me, as long as it didn't affect Serena.

“Please, I just followed their orders. I didn’t want to do it, but they wanted proof to blackmail Lorenzo. Except the bitch hid in her room. By the time she came out, it was too late. She'd claimed it was just cramps from her cycle, and no one would have believed she'd been sleeping with me. Good Italian girls aren't kinky enough to have sex on their periods.”

“Don’t worry. Cordelia and the chief will get what’s coming to them. However, this is about you right now.”

“Please, I’ll apologize to her. I’ll do whatever you want. Just let me live. I don’t want to die.” He was crying harder.

I had no sympathy for him.

“You should have thought about that before you stuck your dick in her. You won’t get the chance to be in the same room with Serena, let alone speak to her again. Once you're gone, I bet she won’t even think of you. She’ll have me, and that's all she'll need.”

I was done with him, and I had enough proof to justify the hit on the other two.

I made sure he watched as I opened the biohazard bag. I took out the tourniquet and wrapped it around his arm. If this had been a patient, I would have been more careful, but the God of War wanted to inflict as much pain as possible. Pulling the cap away from the needle, I showed him the vial, watching Carazzo realize what was happening.

I whispered, "For Serena," as I stuck the needle into his blown vein and pushed the plunger all the way down. His eyes rolled back into his head, and within a few seconds, it was over.

The God of War nodded in approval, his craving temporarily satisfied.

I went back to my office in the basement and burned my disguise, my clothes, and anything else that would be a problem later on. I showered and bleached the tub before getting dressedand heading upstairs to wait for Serena. It already felt like a long night.

***

Two days later, the news reported two male bodies found in a compromising position in the shitty part of town. They said it was a dual overdose in the heat of the moment. Two lovers celebrating with the drugs they had bought on the street. The news made it seem like there was an overdose epidemic and that the police needed to crack down on the dealers.

Once the media figured out that Carazzo was a cop, they spun the story to focus on mental health. He had such stress at work that this was the path he had taken. I heard that the police department had had to undergo extensive psychiatric evaluations.Serves them right, the motherfuckers.

They conveniently left out that Carazzo had been an undercover cop with the Lombardo Family.

That chapter was officially closed.

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