I won’t die like this.
His hand flies to his belt, metal glinting in the dim light. A knife.
I barely have time to react before he swings.
I dodge, but not fast enough. The blade slices across my arm, a sharp, burning cut. Blood wells up instantly, warm against my skin.
Vittorio grins.
"Marco won’t make it out of here alive," he sneers. "And neither will you."
I spit blood at his feet. "Go to hell."
He lunges again.
I brace myself, raising my arms, my body coiled to fight?—
Then—
A gunshot.
The door crashes open.
Vittorio barely has time to turn before Marco barrels into the room.
For one terrifying, electrified second, everything stills.
Marco’s gaze finds mine first—wild, searching, his pupils blown wide with fury. He sees the blood on my arm, the bruises forming on my skin. Then his focus snaps to Vittorio.
And something in him breaks.
The gun he fired is already forgotten. He holsters it in one smooth movement and launches himself at Vittorio with nothing but raw, violent rage.
The impact sends them both crashing through the weakened wall.
Plaster explodes, dust choking the air as the two men collapse into the next room.
The sound of their struggle is brutal—flesh meeting flesh, bone against bone, furniture shattering beneath the force of their movements.
I stagger forward, gripping the doorway, my breath still ragged. My arm screams in pain, blood trickling down to my fingertips, but I barely feel it.
Because Marco and Vittorio are fighting like animals.
Marco slams Vittorio into the ground, his fists relentless, his entire body coiled with a vengeance I’ve never seen in him before. There is no control to his fury, no carefully calculated dominance. This isn’t the Marco who commands with precision.
This is the Marco who destroys.
Vittorio twists, shoving Marco off just enough to roll onto his feet. He stumbles, spitting blood, wiping his mouth as he grins.
"You’re too late, Salvatore," he breathes. "Even without the explosives, I’ll still win."
Marco wipes his own split lip, jaw flexing. "You won’t win anything."
Vittorio lunges again, and Marco meets him head-on, their bodies colliding like a thunderclap.
39
MARCO
