Bound by Vengeance (Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles 5)

Growl didn’t turn again as he strode toward the door and left. The fire in my belly died as if someone had killed it with water. I pulled the blankets up to my chin. I’d never known that loneliness came with a sensation like icy dew covering my skin. Cold. I felt cold. I felt still tender between my legs from Growl, but the rest of me was nothing. This ache between my legs was all that reminded me of Growl. Soon, if…when our plan was successful and we were all safe, what would happen to me? To Growl and me? He struggled with emotions. Most of the time I wasn’t even sure if he could even understand them. Perhaps for him they were what letters were to people with dyslexia. But couldn’t those people learn to live with their limitation, and learn to read and write despite it. So why couldn’t Growl learn emotions. He had already come a long way from when we first met. Perhaps emotions were foreign to him, like passion had been to me, but it didn’t always have to be like that. Growl had taught me passion, had given me no choice but to surrender myself to it. Was I foolish to hope I could teach him emotions as he’d taught me desire and passion?

Perhaps you have already, a meek voice whispered in my head. Perhaps. And perhaps it wasn’t enough.

My eyes were drawn to the skyline of Las Vegas. He’d moved to this place for me. For whatever reason he’d turned his life upside down for me. The next few weeks would tell. If our plan to get revenge went wrong, nothing mattered anymore. Least of all my emotions. Soon everything would be decided.Growl

“Falcone won’t tell me where your sister is and I think he’s growing suspicious of my interest. And negotiations with New York don’t seem to be going very well, which could mean that Falcone won’t need your mother’s help much longer. We can’t wait very long,” Growl said a few days later as he came back to the apartment from doing whatever Falcone asked him to do. Coco and Bandit welcomed him, wagging their tails wildly.

If Falcone didn’t needed mother’s help anymore, he’d probably get rid of her. “But what can we do if we don’t even know where my sister is? We can’t get revenge as long as she’s not safe.”

“I will get the information out of Falcone, don’t worry. We’ll kidnap him and I’ll make him talk. Once I know where your sister is, I will kill Falcone, and will come to New York with your sister.”

“What about me and my mother?”

“You will leave right after I have Falcone in my hands. I don’t want you in town when I’m dealing with Falcone. We’ll all meet up in New York.”

I shook my head. “I won’t leave without my sister. What if something goes wrong and we can’t free her? I want to be there to make sure everything is okay.”

“You can’t help. You’ll only be a liability because I’ll have to keep an eye on you, too, and won’t be able to fight as freely as I’d usually do.”

“Do you think there will be fighting?”

Growl laughed humorlessly. “Falcone is never without bodyguards, and I suppose your sister will be guarded as well. I will have to kill anyone who gets in my way. We can’t let anyone survive. They might give something away. We can’t risk that.”

“So we’ll drive to Falcone’s house and kidnap him?”

“He usually meets with me once a week to give me new jobs. That’s the best day to attack. He will expect me, so he won’t grow suspicious. I’ll take him to a safe place, get the information we need and kill him. Then I’ll get your sister.”

“I told you I won’t drive ahead. I will stay as long as it takes for all of us to be safe and Falcone to be dead.”

Growl didn’t say anything. Perhaps he hoped he could convince me.

“And I need to talk to my mother. She needs to know what we’ve planned.”

Growl shook his head. “No. She might give something away by accident. She doesn’t need to know.” He paused. “Cara, I really want you to drive ahead with your mother. You shouldn’t be in Las Vegas a minute longer than necessary.

“No!” I cried. “I want to be there. I want revenge more than you do. Shouldn’t I be there when it happens?”

Growl touched my cheek. “Are you sure you want that? It’ll change you, believe me. Having blood on your hands changes everything.”

“My life changed when Falcone killed my father, seeing Falcone die for his sin will only make things better.”

Growl nodded. “Okay. But when things get dangerous, you’ll have to listen to my commands. If I’ll tell you to run, you’ll run, and you won’t hesitate or argue. Understood?”