My head spun, and I could taste a tangy, sour taste on my tongue.
Blood?
Maybe.
I used the walls to help trek up the stairs and to my room. I didn’t know where Dad had left off to, but if his patterns stayed the same, then he was done with me for now.
Still, I locked my bedroom door before I collapsed on the bed.
I closed my eyes.
It’ll just be for a little bit.
I just needed some rest, and then I would deal with everything later on.
22
ELIO
Valentino was in a mood.
I didn’t fucking know why, but he was looking for a sparring partner, and I was more than happy to comply.
Getting into the middle of the Devil’s Wings MC shipment last night had gone fine.
We managed to capture a few of the MC bastards, but they hadn’t given us anything we didn’t already know about them.
And we hadn’t taken the important players. We hadn’t found the traitors of the De Luca Famiglia.
My mind shifted back. I could have sworn the man who escaped the night before was Joseph.
His back had been to me most of the time, but there had been a small moment when he had turned slightly and caught my eye.
The light in the warehouse that the Devil’s Wings MC used to store the drugs had been dimmed, but…
I wasn’t wrong.
And I managed to shoot him. I didn’t know where I had hit, but there had been blood on the ground when I went to check it out after.
The bastard was injured. He was fucking lucky last night.
A punch came out of nowhere. I stumbled back as pain erupted on the side of my face. I cupped my jaw and glared at Valentino.
“You shouldn’t be distracted in a fight,” the smug bastard said with a small smile. It didn’t quite reach his eyes. Something was definitely up with him.
I shook away the pain and repositioned myself once more. “Let’s go again.”
He came at me, putting a lot of force behind the weight of his punch.
Luckily, I moved out of the way in time. I managed to kick his back, causing him to stumble in the boxing ring. He grabbed onto one of the ropes to keep from falling, barely catching himself in time. He wasn’t expecting me when he turned around. I tackled him to the ground and pulled his arms up in an awkward position, keeping him immobile on the floor until he tapped his hand.
I smiled and got off him, then stood up and held out my hand for him. He took it, and I pulled him up before walking over to the corner for my water bottle. I chugged the entire thing.
“Want to tell me what’s got you into such a mood?” I asked when he sat down next to me. He was staring off into space.
Then finally, he said, “Isa.”
It took everything in me not to react. “What about Isa?”
