Page 120 of Little Deer
“All of them are fucking idiots,” Sinead rages. “They don’t have what it takes to run this city. They’re so stuck in the old ways of doing shit that they don’t see the potential of what’s right in front of them. And Marco was only a means to an end. Like Iwas ever going to let a man tell me what to do ever again,” she sneers. “The only thing he was good for was fucking.”
“Where is your father?” Nico demands.
“Like I’m going to fucking tell you that.”
“Oh, so suddenly you have family loyalty? Or wasn’t it you that wanted him dead in the first fucking place? I’ll just finish the job you couldn’t.”
Her eyes flash furiously, her body shaking with it. She doesn’t like knowing she lost.
“We’ll find him eventually,” Dante adds casually. “Or would you rather give him one more fuck you? Maybe you’re not the one who pulled the trigger, but I can deliver a final message for you.”
I’ll give it to him, Dante knows how to play to her ego. It’s written all over her face. The knowledge that she might just get to fuck over her father and betray him. It’s fascinating to see a woman who hates her father so much. All because she felt he wasn’t the right one to lead the family or his territory.
“That bastard thought he was so clever,” she sneered. “But he fucked up because he pissed off one too many men and?—”
“Oh will you look at that,” Dante interjects, looking at his phone. “Looks like I won’t be needing you after all.” He looks at us and then Nico. “It seems Eion came through on his threat. Seamus is dead, along with the other men in the bunker. Seamus figured out he was our rat on the inside, but Eion killed him before he could share it. He’s already set it up to look like Marco’s men got in and tried to kill them, but he survived. He’ll pledge his loyalty to Seamus’s second son, Cedric. So do we even need her?”
“No, it doesn’t seem we do,” Nico agrees. “But we’ll wait to kill her until the women leave.”
“No!” Sinead screams. “No, I was supposed to kill him. It was supposed to be me!”
“Silence her,” Papa orders Lazaro, who steps forward with a cloth and quickly gags her. Sinead still tries to scream, thrashing and making the chains rattle, but we all ignore her, instead turning back to the others hanging there.
Nico wastes no time in stepping into Leonardo and slamming his fist hard into his face, making blood spray and Leonardo groan. “That is for every time you hit her,” he hisses. Then he pulls a knife from his pocket, the blade bright in the lights overhead. “And this is for every fucking time you whipped her.” He slices Leonardo’s face, making him scream and thrash, but Dante steps up quickly to hold him in place.
When he finally steps away, I look down at Lucy, who is staring at the sight with a mixture of horror, but also relief. Like she’s finally seeing the man responsible for all this pain he's caused pay.
Then he moves to Giovanni, and he does the same. Giovanni snarls, furious, but he’s the first one to beg and plead for him to stop. The fucking coward.
When Nico gets to Orlando, Orlando gives him a cold smile, but then his gaze goes to Gia. “You were always so easy to fucking break. Crying and simpering like the bitch you are. I told them we should have killed you when you were younger, make it look like an accident.” He lets out a grunt of pain when Nico’s fist slams hard into his face, followed by one to his gut.
“Gag him too,” Nico barks. “I have information I’ll get out of him before we’re done.” He’s practically shaking with the need to kill him.
“Wait,” Gia says, stepping forward. She ignores Nico when he tries to grab her to pull her back. Instead, she looks at Orlando and then her father and uncle. “All three of you tried to break me, but I didn’t break. Not when you hit me,” she says to Giovanni. “Or whipped me,” to Leonardo. “Or just plain tortured me,” to Orlando. “And now look where you are. About to die.Everything you worked for, built, and tried to hide in secret is about to fall apart. Your homes, your networks, none of it matters anymore, does it? And the best part? You’re all going to die knowing that we’re going to dismantle everything you built, piece by fucking piece.”
“You know what makes me stupidly happy?” Sienna asks, stepping forward as well. “We’re the ones who brought you down. All because of the very women you didn’t want. And for Amara, Lucy, and me, we’re the ones who have come back to help make it happen.” She gives a humorless laugh. “Fuck, that must piss you off.”
“You’re nothing,” Leonardo seethes. “You think because you spread your legs that it makes you powerful? You’re only good for fucking and breeding, nothing more. You will never…umphhh.” He grunts when Sienna lands a hard punch to his face.
“You really need to learn to stop talking,” she tells him as she steps back, shaking out her hand.
“Let me see,coniglietta,” Alessio says worriedly, reaching for her.
“I’m fine,” she assures him, but her eyes never leave Leonardo. “The difference between you and the men in front of you, Leonardo, is that you only see what you think is power. Not true power, though. The kind of power that actually makes you weak is the one you kept chasing.” Something flashes in his eyes, and I have to say that Sienna might have just hit that nail right on the head. “You want the power that gets you more, but it makes the cracks form. Your brother hates you, wanted what you had, and your son was the same. Your nephew wanted to take you all out. That’s not power, that’s greed and desperation, and neither work in the long run. Now, everything around you has crumbled. You have no legacy, and everything you built will burn to the ground.”
Esposito starts to laugh. “How wrong you are.” He looks at Nico. “You really think you’re going to win this, nephew? I have so many connections that?—”
“Your networks are finished, Gregorio,” Nico interrupts sharply. “We found my mother’s office, all her records, the map on the wall, all of it. I’ll be shutting it down and all your contacts will have someone new to deal with.” His smile is cold, calculating.
Esposito looks at him, realization dawning. “No. I have a son, it’s his right to take it over.”
“It is indeed,” Papa agrees, stepping forward. “And he’s going to be the one to take it over and make it so much bigger and better than even you could have imagined. Isn’t that right, Dante?”
I hear a sharp intake of breath, and when I turn my head, I see Ada clutching Sofia’s hand tightly. Sofia’s face is unreadable, but I don’t miss the look in her eyes. A sadness she’s trying to hide.
Silly woman. Does she really think that Dante is going to leave her behind?
“No, I will not have a fucking bastard run my territory,” Gregorio seethes, fighting the chains.
