The Mafia and His Obsession: Part 1 (Tainted Hearts 4)

Prologue

Him

The smell of blood touched my nostrils, and I almost fucking laughed. Perfect. Just perfect.

I dug the knife deeper and watched the man scream. He writhed on the cold, hard, bloodied ground.

“Man, can you stop playing Joker?” Phoenix said behind my back.

“If I dye my hair green and wear red lipstick, will I look like Joker?” I replied, twisting the knife in the captive’s flesh before pulling it away.

He laughed mockingly. “No. You will look like a clown.”

He was mocking me. Maybe I’ll shave his head off in his sleep. That would teach him.

Slowly twirling the knife between my fingers, I stared at the man. He seemed captivated with each twirl and twist. I cocked my head to the side, regarding him.

And then, I threw the knife behind me.

“Goddamn it!”

My lips curved upward at the outburst. It looked like the knife had hit its target.

“Are you fucking serious? It almost took a chunk of my flesh!” Phoenix bellowed.

“So dramatic,” Alessio muttered from his position against the wall. “And hurry up! Ayla is waiting for me.”

From the corner of my eyes, I saw him pushing away from the wall. Taking two steps forward, he stopped behind me. “Finish him.”

Two words in the deadly silence of the dark alley. Two words spoken by my Boss. My King.

And his words were my command.

It had been for years.

Taking out an army knife from my breast pocket, I showed my captive the blade. He trembled in absolute fear. The shock and agony in his eyes were not mistaken. It could never be.

That was exactly what we fed on.

Fear. Our enemies’ fear. The look in their eyes when they were about die, it was what we lived for.

Some say we were cruel. Disgusting human beings. Heartless. Ruthless.

I would agree.

But I liked the word barbaric better. Unsympathetic. Sadistic. Vicious.

After all, we were killers.

We were born into this life. Since the very beginning, we breathed it.

From first breath…till our last.

His whimpers snapped me out of my thoughts. Was that piss I smelled?

Most probably. They always turned into disgusting carcasses when their death flashed in front of their eyes. Too bad for them it was always too late.

He opened his mouth to speak, but I never gave him a chance. My fingers tightened around the knife before I drove it down, right in the middle of his throat.

The man gurgled his last breath as his blood poured around him…and on me. Shaking my head in disgust, I spat on him.

“Foolish. They know the consequences, but they still try and play us,” I sneered at him.

His chest expanded as he took his last breath…and then silence. Nobody spoke a word as we stared at the dead man, his eyes still open. Still staring into mine.

The only difference was that his were empty, while mine were still very much alive, glowing with power.

I heard Phoenix talking over the phone while I stood up. My handkerchief was already out of my pocket, and I cleaned my hands, trying to remove the blood. My face was next. It felt sticky where the blood had splattered.

Appalling filth. I need a fucking shower now.

Why didn’t Alessio do it himself?

Oh, wait…because he didn’t want to get his hands dirty this time. His Angel was waiting for him at home.

Like that made him the lesser evil.

He was just as fucked up.

We were all fucked.

But we had her to bring us some light. A little bit of happiness. Some smiles…some occasional laughter. Some scraps of love.

She gave it all to us, without expecting anything in return. She loved so much and so hard that sometimes our hearts were not big enough to take it all.

Someone swore behind me. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion as I was brought back to the present.

Annoyingly, I had been lost in my thoughts too much lately. Very bad.

I was going to get killed if I don’t get my shit together.

“Boss,” I heard Phoenix warn.

What the fuck is he warning Alessio about? I turned around, facing the others.

Only to come face to face with Alessio pointing his gun at me.

“Seriously? We don’t have time for this,” I said, my eyes on the gun. He cocked his head to the side, his eyebrows lifted in amusement.

“Can we do this later? After we have disposed of the body? C’mon, man.”

I rolled my eyes, knowing Alessio wasn’t going to do something stupid. He wouldn’t. Not after everything.

Turning my back to him again, I put my life…everything in his hands. I gave him my full trust.

That was my first mistake.

I heard the gunshot first. It rang so loud in the silent alley. My heart thumped in response.

Then I felt it. The indescribable pain and burn that came after the bullet pierced my body.

He shot me.

He actually shot me.

In the ass.

What the ever-loving fuck?

He did not just fucking shoot me.