Page 43 of Ruthless Contract
His gaze snapped back to mine. “What?”
"I'm here to kill you. Not rehabilitate your weak ass."
I aimed directly at his head.
“Rome, wait!” he yelled.
A gunshot rang out. The window exploded beside me. Glass showered across the floor, covering Pasquale, who turned onto his side to avoid it. I spun toward the doorway. A guard stumbled into the room, falling to his knees.
His eyes were red, and tears were streaming down his cheeks. He started wheezing, spit flying from his mouth. The gun slippedfrom his hand as he collapsed onto the floor, a coughing fit overtaking him.
The tear gas had done its job. And it had saved my life. Because if that guard's aim had been true, I'd be dead right now. I started to look away from the guard who was struggling to breathe.
However, my momentary distraction cost me the upper hand. As soon as I turned around, Pasquale slammed into me from the side, clipping my legs. The impact knocked me off balance.
I crashed onto the bed as my weapon discharged into the ceiling. Debris rained down onto us. Before I could recover, Pasquale grabbed my wrist and slammed it against the headboard.
Pain should've exploded through my arm. It didn't. However, the gun flew across the room.Fuck. Pasquale immediately scrambled after it. So did I. I grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked him backward before he could climb off the bed.
The fabric tore beneath my grip. Pasquale spun around and drove his fist into my jaw. My head snapped to the side. A wave of dizziness that probably had more to do with the blood loss from my gunshot wound than his punch washed over me.
I swung, striking him in the face. Even though I wasn’t in pain, my movements were slower than normal. I had to finish this and get home to stitch this wound up. But Pasquale wasn’t making it easy for me.
Even with his right hand wounded, he was fighting back. He elbowed me in the mouth. I tasted blood as I sat up and punched him in the face, bruising my knuckles on his teeth. The room began to spin around me.
I blinked, trying to keep my prey in focus. His legs kicked out as he fought against me, knocking a lamp from his end table. From the corner of my eye, I caught sight of movement in the hall.
I sat up, lifting Pasquale’s body with me. Another shot rang out from the doorway. Pasquale jerked, eyes widening.
“Fuck! Sorry, boss,” the guard cried before sliding down the wall in the hall, coughing and rubbing his eyes.
I stared down at where Pasquale had been shot in the left arm. Yet, the bastard still had some fight in him. He stared down at the hole in my shirt. A smile spread across his face as he shoved his finger directly into the bullet wound beneath my shoulder.
I felt nothing.
Pasquale's smile disappeared. He pushed harder. Still nothing. I wrapped my hand around the back of his neck and drove my forehead into his face. His nose cracked. Blood sprayed across the front of his shirt.
It even splattered onto my face as one of my glass lenses cracked.Shit. Pasquale fell back onto the bed, crying and clutching his face. Rolling away from him, I climbed off the bed. I was moving much more slowly now, my body starting to fail me.
I had to finish this and get out of here before I passed out. I moved over to my gun on the floor. Both guards were trying to get up now. Grabbing my weapon, I aimed at the first guard and fired, ending him.
I pointed at the second guard. I fired, aiming for his head, striking his neck instead.Shit. The man clutched his throat. He’d bleed out soon. Just like I was bleeding out. I really needed to sit down for a moment.
My vision blurred. In my peripheral, I saw Pasquale climbing off the bed, going for his guard’s gun. I pointed in his direction, aimed...shit. Why were there two of him? I fired as Pasquale raised his gun.
His cry let me know I’d shot the real him and not the hallucination. Red stained the middle of his shirt as he staggered backward, gun falling from his grip. He tripped over his guard and hit the floor. I’d shot him in the stomach.
Finally, it was finished. I’d done what I’d come to do. And that was good because I was almost out of energy. I strode forward, nose twitching. What was that smell? It smelled like something was burning. Moving over to the window, I stared out.
What the fuck?
Someone had set a fire outside. They were trying to burn down the house with us in it. The front gate guard! It had to be him. The Corradinis must’ve put him up to it. This was their way of getting rid of both my cousin and me. Two Cattaneos with one fire.
I had to get out. Now!
I stumbled toward the hallway, stepping over a guard as I went. When I stepped over Pasquale, I stared down at him. Almost all of his white T-shirt was red now. This could’ve ended much differently for us if only he’d stayed out of my way.
If only he hadn’t shaken hands with the enemy while backstabbing family. I felt no guilt over ending him. Maybe that made me the monster in this situation. If so, I’d gladly accept that role if it meant protecting what was mine.
