Page 223 of Power
“I’m Dante.Jerod is like Clarke Kent. Jerod works for ATF, chasing bad guys. All bad guys except The Bomb Maker. Do you know why that is?”
“Becauseyou’reThe Bomb Maker,” Simone said, keeping her voice steady so he wouldn’t hear her fear. “Dante is a killing machine. Dante killed Guy Chenkus. Dante killed Cary Newburg.”
“Ding! Ding! Ding!” Dante beamed. “I’m that person. I create mayhem and destruction wherever I go. Years ago, I bombed all those government buildings?—”
Tears spilled down Hirzog’s cheeks. “Why?”
“Because it’s fun! Ilovemaking explosives and watching people suffer. The more the merrier. I love seeing my success play out on the news, on social media. No one could catch me, but ALPHA—fucking ALPHA—was on to me. So, I killed them.” He slunk over to Simone, grabbed her face in his gun-free hand, and squeezed. Hard. “This cutie pie lived, but I didn’t know that. I thoughteveryonehad died.”
“Ohgod, this is bad,” Peter bleated.
Dante kept his wild-eyed gaze on Simone.
“Imagine how surprised I was when you returned from the dead, like a Phoenix rising from the ashes. What a fab reunion! Thanks to Peter and his laptop, I had access to ALPHA. Happy day! And here you are, again. Finally, I get to finish the job I started, make a cool quarter mil then vanish into thin air, just like I did five years ago. Only this time, I’m going to make sure you, Simone Redding, are dead.”
“You killed my team,” Simone bit out. “You sent me into hiding, you stole my life, then you killed Frederica and her team.”
“My motto is destruction and mayhem?—”
“I thought you said mayhem and destruction,” she hissed.
Dante smacked her cheek. “You’re annoying me. I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
Simone’s face burned from his slap, but she stayed silent. He had the powerandthe weapon… until she took them both from him.
“Don’t hit her,” Hirzog growled, the tone catching her ear.
“Seriously, big guy, you’re in no position to tellmewhat to do.”
“You want the money,” Hirzog said. “Take it and get the hell out! Crawl back under the fucking rock from where you came.”
“Speaking of fucking… you, lover man, liked it rough,” Dante said. “Is that what’s happening now? You’re putting on a tough-guy attitude with me? I wasn’t interested in you then. I’m not interested in you now. You were such an easy mark. I fawned all over you. I stroked your massive ego and I stroked your dick. And you fell for me.” He grinned. “I was playing a part to get you to create that incredible network of yo-yos who gave me what I needed. A government-based crime ring where I gave open access to the world’s most ruthless criminals. And they’re here. They’re all here! Our day is coming and, when it does, we will be immortalized as the most destructive power in the universe!”
To her absolute horror, Dante did a happy dance.
Bile rose in her throat while nausea rolled through her. She wanted to throw up.
“I’m going to quote Jerod,” Dante said. “Death is the ultimate loss. It messes with people in a way that nothing else does.” His face split into a terrifying grin. “Don’t you just love that quote? I do!”
Hirzog jumped out of the chair, the rope dangling loosely from one of his wrists. He lunged for Jerod.
BANG!
“AAAAAAIIEEEEEEEE!!! Hirzog shrieked, falling to the kitchen floor.
“Shut up, old man. Shut the hell up! While I couldn’t have done it without you, I can do without you now. Now, you’re a cling-on. You’re a fucking nuisance and you’re expendable.”
Groaning in pain, Hirzog lay bleeding from a leg wound, blood oozing onto his pants.
The front door banged open, Luciano rushed into the kitchen, his Glock drawn. Dante yanked Simone out of the chair,pulled her in front of him like a shield. One arm around her neck, the gun to her temple.
“Welcome to the party, handsome,” Dante said. “I believe we’ve already met.”
Luciano growled, his fury-filled gaze sliding from Simone to Hirzog to Nikki, still slumped at the table.
“I’ll kill her,” Dante said. “Because I love watching people suffer. So, Mr. Richie Rich, put the weapon on the counter and step away.
To Simone’s surprise, Luciano set down his gun.
