"Baz!" Terror grips me as I fly across the floor to my husband and infant daughter. No, God. Please no, God. No.
The rocker is sideways, and there's a red stain on Baz's side. He's curled in the fetal position with Audie screaming in his arms.
"Baz!" I screech as I pull on him. He pops his head up, guarding Audie even from me. "You're bleeding." I pull his T-shirt up, frantically searching for the wound. But nothing's there. I pull his shirt down again, and the red stain is clearly visible.
"Is it her?" I look at Audie, but she seems fine. Thank God.
"I think it's ketchup." He dabs his finger against the stain and takes a lick. "Definitely ketchup."
My body sags. I just lost three years of my fucking life.
"Get him out of here!" Gianni bellows as Gun and Bull subdue Desmond on the floor.
"No, wait." A sensation I haven't felt in a long time rushes through me. The urge to kill. Everyone in the room pauses to look at me. "Take Audie and Gianna upstairs," I instruct Baz.
"Stevie-"
"No," I shut him down at once. "Take our daughter upstairs."
Baz's eyes widen. Not from fear or intimidation, but from recognition.
He doesn't say a word as he stands, clutching Audie. I give her a kiss as she squirms and cries in his big arms. Turning to watch him leave, I find Frederick beside himself at the door. My heart breaks for the old man. His world was just shattered. His son turned. That's the ultimate betrayal.
Several other guards have entered the room at this point, assessing the damage, but I just want to be alone. Alone with Desmond.
"Everyone get out," I announce, and Gianni's gaze bores into mine. We have an unspoken conversation. He knows what I need. Who I am. And what I'm capable of.
"You heard her," he backs me up.
"Put him in a chair," I direct Bull and Gun. "We're gonna talk."
The other guards vacate the room, taking Frederick with them. The look in his eyes . . . It's devastating. I feel for him. My heart imploding.
Once it's just the five of us, Bull and Gun slam Desmond into the seat at the head of the table.
"I'm anxious to see you work." Gianni gives me complete carte blanche. "I'd like to know what rumors are true."
"All of them." I sit on the edge of the table, directly in front of Desmond. "You're a shitty shot," I insult him. "And you just utterly destroyed your father. Why?"
Desmond looks away, his long, dark, messy hair falling into his face. That's when I'm struck with recognition.
"You." I clutch his chin and jerk his head forward. "I knew I recognized you. You're one of Regina's boy toys." He was the guy in her study the day she sent me after Baz.
"I'm not a fucking boy toy. We're in love."
He's delusional. Regina doesn't love anyone but herself.
"Jesus Christ. Regina and her fucking golden snatch. She brainwashed another one." I laugh. "She doesn't love you," I set him straight. "She's using you. She sent you on a fucking suicide mission. That's not love. That's manipulation."
Desmond clenches his jaw, rage radiating in his pretty blue eyes. At least I used to think they were pretty. They're a traitor's eyes now. Disgusting.
"Desmond." Gianni shakes his head, disappointingly. It's all he needs to say. His hostility is palpable. That's the sign of a true boss, when one word can strike fear in the people who are on your own side.
"It was all you," I accuse. "You were the one who told Regina where to find Baz in Colorado. Where to find us at the safe house. You were the one who gave me up after Baz and I arrived. You told her when we were getting married. You helped her try and sabotage us. Baz was supposed to be your friend! How could you betray him like that? Betray your entire family?"
Desmond remains quiet. He knows he's fucked.
"Kill him," Gianni gives the order.
"No," I stop him. I'm wearing brass balls today. "I've had enough of this. You're going to deliver a message. I need a knife."
I pull up a chair directly in front of Desmond as Gun retrieves a sharp paring knife from the kitchen. Bull remains in place with the barrel of a gun pressed firmly to Desmond's head.
Gianni stands quietly beside me, arms crossed, morbidly engrossed in what I'm about to do.
I pick up the knife and lounge in the high back chair. My blood is a rushing river of lava right now. I press the point into my fingertip and twist it back and forth.
"You know, I once watched Benny skin a man alive. He started with his neck." I show him on myself with the tip of the blade, pressing it lightly under the side of my jaw. "Did you know you can see your pulse beat beneath the skin? The muscles actually quiver with every thump." The dread in Desmond's eyes is actually gratifying. "Hold his head still and tilt it up." I flick the knife. Gun, with his two huge paws, traps Desmond's face. Desmond flails, and Bull whacks him in the stomach with his gun, causing him to double over.