Page 123 of When She Tempts (The Fallen)
They got along with him.
And so did I. As soon as I met him, I projected myself onto him. I hadn’t realized I was doing it, but I remember assuming he’d have the same need for vengeance against Sal as I did.
Then one night, he proved me wrong. It took us a while to even come to the topic, but eventually Polo’s curiosity won out. He asked me if I knew our father personally, and when I said I did, his eyes lit up. He asked me lots of questions. I answered him honestly, explaining that our biological father was a despicable man.
I thought that was the end of it, but a few days later, he gave me a letter to send to Sal.
I said I would, but I never did.
And that lie was perhaps what started to shift the balance.
I’d forgotten that some young men long for a father. For them, knowing the substance of the man who brought them into this world is akin to a primal need. It overrides logic and reason.
I slam the shovel into the ground and squeeze my eyes shut.
How did I fuck up this badly with him?
How did I fail to recognize that his growing envy wouldn’t just disappear one day?
How could I have been so careless and allowed this to happen?
Tommaso and Allegra were under my protection, and I failed them.
And Mari... At some point, my focus shifted from keeping her safe to keeping her in my bed.
I pop my eyes open and resume digging. As the pile of dirt grows with each lift of my shovel, so does my conviction.
Polo and Sal will die at my hands for what they did. I’ll do whatever I have to in order to be the one to kill the don.
And Polo?
He’ll watch me kill his precious fucking father, so that he knows exactly what’s coming for him next.
* * *
I’m finished two hours and some minutes later. As I step onto the path that leads back to the house, I glance over my shoulder at the burning cottage.
The flames reach high up into the sky. Most of the stone foundation and walls will remain, but when the fire dies down, enough of this wretched place will be gone.
I always said this place was a reminder, but I don’t need it anymore.
I know exactly what I have to do.
Polo’s cross digs into my palm as I fist it inside my pocket.
When I get back to the car, I glance at the bag of diamond jewelry Sal had me retrieve and slam on the gas.
The bag slides on the seat and gets wedged between the cushions. I should probably be more careful with it, but I don’t give a fuck. If there’s one thing Damiano has, it’s money. I’m half-tempted to toss it out the window.
After I got off the phone with Mari, I checked to make sure the diamonds were real, and they are. Clearly, Polo did a shit job coordinating his plan with the don. If Sal knew what Polo was planning to do today, there’s no way he would have sent me on this retrieval. But now, the large amount of jewelry Sal wanted me to get makes more sense. Sal was trying to use me until he couldn’t anymore. The pieces were in a vault only Sal and I can open, but he’s not risking travel right now. So he sent me.
If Polo’s expecting a warm welcome from his father, he’s going to be disappointed. Not only is he going to show up empty-handed, he’ll also be blamed for Sal losing the equivalent of ten million euros.
I scoff to myself. Polo was too eager to prove his worth, and instead, he showed everyone he’s a fucking amateur.
Pathetic.
He must be panicking. He wanted to deliver Mari to Sal like an offering, and now all he has is the information she was with me and the location of an empty castle.
