Drago (Made Men 6)

“No,” she revealed, keeping that secret she had known the day after she’d met Amo. Angel had finally told her, wanting her to know, so she could be wary of him, but remembering the way he was with Shadow, she knew the truth. “He’s not evil,” And like her brother Matthias, he was… “just broken.”

And now I know why.

There was an essence in Lucca that was “all knowing” like he could read minds or see the future. It was an intuitive ability beyond his years that should have been unknown to man, but here he was, living proof that such existed. “Amo will heal when he’s ready, but others will never get the chance. You can fix a break, but you can’t fix obliteration.”

A single tear welled up in her eye before it fell splashing to her cheek, knowing his words to be true for those who walked this earth with a similar pain that Matthias held. The saddest part was they would often hide that pain behind laughter or charisma, but eventually that darkness would overtake them, consuming them for all they were worth till they couldn’t take it anymore…

“Do not cry, Katarina, for we need men like him to balance out men like your father…” Reaching out, he wiped the tear with a cold finger. “Me…” Then he rubbed the salty liquid between his fingers before he gave her another all-knowing look. “… and Cassius.”

Her heart sunk instantly back to the floor. “How did y—”

“You can’t hide pure evil. Even in the form of a boy.” The boogieman returned in a flash, showing her that same evil. “I hope we have reached an understanding, Katarina. I like you but not enough that I won’t kill you if you speak to Chloe that way again.”

It had been a long time since she’d prayed. Watching the boogieman leave after she nodded, she prayed not only for the souls he had taken, but also that they had been worth sacrificing.

* * *

Amo stood on the other side of the door very quietly, listening to every word they were saying.

She knew… this whole time.

Wanting to feel anything but nothing since Chloe, he had chosen hatred. Hatred toward a family that had tried to take his uncle away. A family born from the devil, who he thought there wasn’t a one worth saving.

But it turned out… there’s one.

* * *

Drago opened his apartment door to see Katarina asleep on the couch.

Getting up from the table, Amo came up to him face-to-face. “I need to speak with you.”

“Okay.” He matched his nephew’s quiet tone, so they wouldn’t wake her up.

“I did something, Drago, that you might not forgive me for.”

He paused for a moment as every muscle in his body tensed, worried for what was about to pass through his nephew’s lips. Whatever it was, was bad. That he knew in his gut.

“I wanted to get even with the Lucianos after what they did to you, and when I heard Tom died, I think a part of me lost it. So, I set out to even the score.”

“What the fuck did you do?” Drago took a grave step toward him.

“While you were gone, I took it out on the Luciano who was closest at the time.” His voice didn’t waiver, and he didn’t sugarcoat it as he stood there strongly, confessing his sin. “Angel.”

“You were one of them wearing the mask.” It wasn’t a question but a statement, having heard what had happened to Angel when he’d returned to this plane. Lucca had said he was handling it, and with him being so busy recovering, he hadn’t thought of it. Truthfully, he hadn’t much cared about the Luciano brother being hurt when he first heard it. It was that the Carusos had defied orders, knowing that Angel was here under Lucca’s protection, and committed the crime knowing that it was so severe they needed to hide their faces. “Does Lucca know?”

“I was assigned to watch her”—he nodded to Katarina still peacefully sleeping—“as punishment.”

Lucca was a smart man, that was for sure. Forcing him to watch the sister of the one he’d almost killed was serendipitous in a way. Being constantly reminded of the thing you did wrong was a hard pill to swallow, especially when that pill came in the form of Katarina. That he knew all too well. You couldn’t hate her, no matter how hard you tried, and Lucca fucking knew that.

He took another step toward him, until his face was an inch away while not only his eyes breathed fire, but his mouth did too. “De Santis men don’t like to lose, but you lost her to him. Now… you are losing yourself.”

Amo could only nod.

He stepped away before opening the door. “Get your shit together and get the fuck out of my face.”