Page 80 of Bittersweet Endings
“Let. Go,” I demanded.
“I’ve seen you do countless ruthless things to protect us. How you care about us. You’re smart and prepared… except when it comes to her.”
“You callin’ me weak, brother?”
He rolled his eyes. “Octavia is your fucking blind spot, and you know it. Everything else ceases to exist when it comes to her.” He shook his head. “You have no idea what’s inside. No plan. That’s deadly for a man like you.”
I yanked my arm free. “Then I guess I’ve been living on borrowed time.”
Lucky stepped forward.“Listen to him, Carmine. Give us a minute to come up with a plan.”
“Every logical probability of you entering that plane suggests imminent death,” Apollo chimed in.
“We secure the scene first. Be smart about this.” Matteo motioned at Lucky, urging him to get his men moving.
I looked at him then. My brother. My blood. The one who’d always had my back. “That’s the problem, Matteo.” My voice came out quieter, deadlier. “I don’t give a fuck about being smart right now. I am ending this.”
“A man with a death sentence is hardly seeing straight,” Apollo muttered.
I ignored them all as I stepped inside the plane, choking on the scent of blood. The cabin was dim, lit only by the soft overheads casting long, eerie shadows across the leather seats and the bodies slumped between them. My boots stuck to the floor as I approached. Stopping when I saw her.
Poised in a leather chair, her legs crossed, her shoulders back, her face unreadable. A gun in her lap while her fingers rested on the barrel, like she had all the time in the world. But it was her eyes that had given me pause. Cold. Dark. Detached. Not afraid, not uncertain. Almost pleased.
There she was. The dark monster she’d buried deep was finally set free.
Between us, with his back to me, JP sat rigid in his seat. Hisbody unnaturally still. For the first time in his miserable fucking life, he looked tense. I exhaled slowly, my grip flexing around my gun. And then I stepped forward again, slow and careful, taking in the scene before me. The bodies. The blood. The tension. But Octavia wasn’t looking at me; she was locked on to JP.
She thought she was in charge right now. That she could handle this on her own. But she needed me. We both knew it.
She tapped the seat next to her. A quiet invitation to join whatever show she was putting on. But I didn’t sit. Not yet. And when I didn’t move to follow her command, she finally looked up at me.
“We have a lot to discuss,” she murmured, shifting her position just enough for me to see the slight tick in her jaw. “And I thought this was the perfect moment for us to do it. Together.”
“Together?” My gaze burned into hers. “You really think I’m here for some fucking heart-to-heart, little doll?”
JP let out a low, heaving breath that was filled with impatience and agitation. He’d underestimated his opponent, and that wasn’t something he’d done in quite some time.
“You’ve played your part, haven’t you, little doll?” My words carried a weight that could crush her. “You fucked with your family with this little stunt. For once, they’re the ones terrified. Not you.”
She still didn’t look at me. But I saw her fingers grip the gun tighter. The smallest shift, like she was ready to lash out. “Sit.”
My smirk matched my humor and I lowered myself down, eager to witness what she would do next.
JP’s eyes narrowed as he shot a dark, venomous glare towards me. “So, this is what it’s come to, huh?” His tone turned mocking. “My son, on the end of some bitch’s leash? I alwaysknew you were weak, Carmine, but this? Letting her control you like this?”
Octavia’s eyes flicked to JP and then she smiled. “Like father, like son.” Her words dripped with contempt. “You want things you can’t have. You built an empire and got cocky. Thought no one could touch you. And instead of encouraging your son, preparing him to take over, you got sloppy.”
Her hand swept through the air, as if gesturing to his current predicament. Now he was vulnerable, stripped of his power and athermercy. A woman.
“How far did that get you, JP? You’re nothing but a pawn in your own game.” She glanced at me. “And your son has a lot of things you need to answer for.”
Reality came crashing down on me. Because just like that, the game had changed.
Chapter Twenty-Five
OCTAVIA AGOSTINO
“Is Rocco okay?” I asked, Carmine’s only answer a faint nod.
