Kon (Trassato Crime Family Book 2)(72)

I spat on his face. “Fuck you. I didn’t have anything to do with that. You’re just a whiny finnochino taking this out on me since you’re not man enough to face my brother.”

He smacked my forehead against the concrete. White stars burst behind my eyes, and I pinched them closed so I didn’t cry. I refused to give him the satisfaction. If I was going to die today, I’d go down with my dignity intact, fighting every step of the way. I was done being a victim, swinging whatever way fate pushed me.

“That’s where you’re wrong. I see it as an eye for an eye. Gian killed my brother so I’m gonna kill his sister. Poetic justice, don’t ya think?”





CHAPTER

THIRTY-THREE





Konstantin



We didn’t make it halfway up the front sidewalk before a gunshot rang out. I charged, the plan we made forgotten. My gun drawn, I kicked the door open, and splinters of wood showered the tiled entry.

I paused inside the door, listening, analyzing, and searching for clues. The house was filled with floral covered furniture. It smelled of rotten food and cigarettes. Pizza boxes covered the glossy coffee table.

Screams and shouts carried up the staircase from the basement.

“Downstairs!” Gian yelled, rushing past me.

At the top of the steps, I froze in my tracks. Renzo had Carmela pinned against the wall at the bottom of the stairs and another woman who I assumed was Gemma was leaning against the wall with her arms folded. The part that shook me to the core was seeing Laney curled in a ball with blood dripping down her leg, her face contorted in pain.

Anatolyi nudged my back. “Move.”

I couldn’t. Seeing Laney there was like seeing a ghost.

“Kon,” Laney mumbled, her voice trembling and tears streaming down her face. “Thank God you’re here. I knew you’d come for me.”

Renzo whirled around, forcing Carmela in front of him like a human shield. He had a knife pressed to her throat. Her dark hair was tangled and blood dripped from her hairline to her chin. My breath stalled like someone had hit me in the gut with a two by four.

“Put the safety on your guns and drop ’em on the floor,” Renzo barked.

“No way, man. That’s not gonna happen!” Anatolyi shouted behind me. “Don’t listen to him, Kon. He’s high as a fucking kite. All of them are. Look at them. They’re bugging out. This won’t end well.”

“Do it or I’ll slit her fucking throat,” Renzo growled, flexing the arm holding the knife. Carmela squeezed her eyes closed, a whimper falling from her mouth.

“Do it,” I said, without turning around. With one hand raised, I bent at my knees and placed the gun on the step next to my feet, my gaze glued to the sharp point digging into Carmela’s long neck. I heard the clank of Gian, Sal, and Anatolyi’s guns banging against the wooden treads.

“Now kick them down the stairs.”

Four guns somersaulted down the steps, sliding to a stop against the baseboard near Laney. I still had no clue how she ended up here. Had Renzo and Gemma kidnapped her too? I didn’t need any more guilt on my head where she was concerned.

“Kon, I need you. Help me,” Laney gasped, holding one blood-covered hand out to me.

“Don’t listen to her, Kon. She’s using again. Look at her,” Anatolyi hissed.

Anatolyi was right. Laney’s pupils were like saucers and I could barely see her blue irises. Her hair was greasy and her clothes looked as if she’d been wearing them for days. Shit, she’d relapsed…again. Who the hell was taking care of her kid?

“What do you want, Renzo?” I said, zeroing in on him and Carmela. Laney was a lost cause. She had been for years.

A bitter cackle erupted from his lips. “Whaddaya think I want?”

“I don’t know, tell me.”

“I want my brother back, but that’s not gonna happen, is it?”

“I didn’t have anything to do with your brother’s death and neither did Carmela.”

“Her brother did. Gian had him knocked off, and then you fucked me over. Alesio thinks you’re more valuable to the family, so he took me to the carpet. He broke me like I meant nothing. What a fucking joke. My brother and I busted our asses for people who turned their backs on us, and for what? Money. Do you know what that feels like? Family. Loyalty. Honor. It’s all a bunch of bullshit.”

“What does that have to do with her or me?” I shook my head. “Alesio is his own man, and so is Gian.”

“It has everything to do with her!” he roared, his lips curling over his yellowed teeth and his bloodshot eyes bulging out of his head.

“Your brother killed a made man, Renzo.” Gian stepped in front of me, his hands raised in surrender. “You know how things work. He knew how things worked. We roughed him up. He didn’t try to fight us. He understood his duty.”