"He won't harm her. He promised."
"Amelia, Amelia." I shake my head, seeing that there's no reasoning with her. In her mind, Nicolo is a character larger than life — her savior.
"The moment you targeted Lina, you lost." I say, regret swamping me as I turn on the only person who made my childhood a little more bearable.
But no one messes with my Lina. No one.
JUST A FEW MONTHS AGO I'd been here, at Tino's grave. It feels like a bad joke that Nicolo's chosen this particular spot. My family's crypt is the size of a double-story house, a big vault accentuating the height of the construction. Four generations of the Lastra family make their place of eternal rest here, including mother and what should be father's empty tomb.
As I push open the screeching door, all I can think of is Lina.
Please let me be on time!
The crypt is built just like a house, with a few different rooms. After checking the ground floor, I head towards the basement where the tombs are located.
"There he is!" My uncle exclaims as I make my way down the narrow stairs. At the bottom, the basement fills out into a wide room with four thick pillars. Nicolo is standing in the middle, his arms wide open, a wicked smile on his face.
My eyes immediately roam around the room until I settle on Lina's slight figure. She's in a corner, her hands tied around a pillar, her face resting on the icy surface of the column.
"Lina?" I call out, taking in her disheveled appearance and the way her entire being shirks away from my presence.
Does she hate me that much?
I turn back to Nicolo, hurling the present I'd been holding towards him.
Amelia's head rolls on the ground, her eyes wide open and staring at my uncle.
"So you figured it out. Pity, she was a good lay." He shrugs, kicking the head further with his foot. Catalina shrieks when it rolls past her and stops at a close distance.
"I think your wife may be more disappointed in this than me." He chuckles as Lina's eyes widen with fear. Even when she turns to me, her entire being seems to be revolted by my presence.
And it breaks my heart.
"Let her go. She has nothing to do with this."
"Ah, see, there you're wrong. She has everything to do with this. She is your main trigger, isn't she?" Nicolo asks, amused.
Lina's eyes turn to me, and the pain I see reflected in them makes me want to take on the king of hell himself.
I try to convey with my gaze that I will take care of this, but I'm not sure even I believe myself at this point.
"What do you want, Nicolo? You want my position so bad you'd resort to this? Take it, it's yours." I state, my eyes moving from him to Lina.
Nicolo's eyebrows shoot up a second before he throws his head back and laughs.
"You'll give me your position?" He jeers at me, still laughing. "See, this is why you were never fit to be capo. You always put her before everything." He remarks in derision. "Don't worry, your position will be mine by default after you die." He shrugs his shoulders and casually walks towards the end of the room to pick up a rusty knife.
"Why don't we try this..." He twists the knife around, tasting its strength. "I may let her go, if you submit to me."
"What?" I blurt out, a maniacal smile appearing on his face.
"Submit to me. It's the only way she'll go free."
"Fine. I'll do it. Just let her go."
"Not yet" he shakes his head and motions towards another pole. "Go and handcuff yourself."
I pause for a second, and my eyes meet Lina's. Her eyebrows are drawn together in confusion. Just seeing her there... I walk, and sitting down, I secure my hand to a metal pole. One half of the cuff is wrapped around the metal for support while the other is now circling my wrist.
"Why, why are you doing this?" Lina's voice is but a whisper as she asks.
Nicolo smiles slowly, and I suddenly see father in him.
"Blame it all on your husband. He is, after all, the reason for all your misfortunes." He happily tells her, delighted when her face falls. She turns to me slightly, and her expression is one of fear mixed with disappointment.
I've failed her. Repeatedly.
Nicolo casually walks towards me, shifting and playing with the knife in his hands. He stoops down in front of me, wielding the blade close to my face.
"It's time to pay up, boy." One swoop of the knife and the material holding my shirt together falls. He trails the knife down my chest, the tip tantalizingly close to digging in my skin. He does that a few times, trying to trick my senses. Then he cuts.
I grit my teeth at the pain. After all, it's something I'm used to. Catalina, though, lets out a loud gasp as blood stars pooling down my torso.
Nicolo continues to make slight cuts all over, but I don't give him the satisfaction of reacting. No, all I can do is keep my eyes on Lina, my only reason to keep on fighting.
It doesn't take him long to stop, seeing that he's not getting any reaction out of me. He stands up and frowns, looking over my bleeding body with a question in his eyes.
"It seems this isn't working." He muses, narrowing his eyes at me.
"What did you expect? That I'd be wailing in pain?" I quip ironically.
"I should have known you torture wouldn't do much for you. Not with Giovanni as your father." He chuckles, as if he's just realized something important.
Maybe father had a hand in my increased tolerance for pain, but only when it comes to myself. He'd tried so hard to kill my emotions that the only thing he'd done had been to kill my need for self-preservation. I don't care what happens to me – not anymore. But Lina? She's the only one that matters, and not even the worst torment could make me give her up.
"Don't you worry," he taunts, "I have many tricks under my sleeve."
Nicolo steps away from me, and with a hand motion he signals someone else to come in. His smile only increases as he watches Franco saunter in, eye-patch on.
"What?" I breathe out, confused at the connection.
"Franco here has a little quibble with you, don't you Franco?"
"And the bitch." Franco adds, his eyes roving over Lina's form with a leer.
"If pain won't break you," Nicolo says, deep in thought. "Then maybe the sight of your beloved in pain will."
My eyes widen at his implication, swinging from Nicolo to Franco.
They both laugh, and Nicolo gives Franco the green light to proceed.
"Marcello, Marcello, let's see how it feels to be so helpless... to watch your wife get fucked by another while you can't do anything to help her."
My pulse is racing, my breathing labored.
God, no!
"Lina..." I whisper, and I see her back away, as much as her bounds allow her to. Franco is upon her in seconds, his hands grabbing at her legs and pulling them towards him.
I can't watch this! I try to tug my hand free from the cuff, but it's in vain. The pole is highly secured, the cuff tight around my wrist.
"No!" Lina yells, trying to kick at Franco. One hand clumsily works at the front of his trousers, while the other keeps on tugging at her dress.
No!
I turn back to my restraints, knowing time is of essence. I will my mind to work and think of all the possibilities. I can't uproot the pole... I can't break the handcuffs, but... I can break my own hand.
Lina's cries intensify, and they only spur me on. I hold on to the pole with one hand, and fold the other within the cuff, my thumb directly parallel with the other digits. Then I pull. So hard my eyes tear up, I pull and hit the cuff at the same time. I do it until I hear the sound of bones cracking; until my hand becomes a limp mass of crushed bones. Until it slips free.
Swallowing the pain and using it to feed my anger, I'm up and upon Franco in a second. There's only a slight relief at seeing that he didn't get to Lina before my good hand and what's left of the other wrap themselves around his neck. Using the strength in my wrist, I curb his struggles and twist his neck at an angle, effective
ly snapping it. The adrenaline must have kicked in, because I have no notion of time as I kick his lifeless body to the side and kneel in front of a scared Lina.
Her eyes are wild as she sees me, but I note a hint of relief in them as well. I hesitate as I reach for her, and when she doesn't shy from me, I pull her closer, holding tight.
"I'm so sorry, Lina. So sorry." I breathe out a sob. "I'll get you out of here. You have my word, I swear."
She doesn't speak, her body shaking with fear. I reach behind her back and with uncoordinated movements; I attempt to untie her hands.
"What a touching scene." Nicolo's voice mocks from behind. I turn around, and I watch as he comes closer, a hint of annoyance on his face as he takes in my limp hand.
"You know, I never thought a monster like you would be capable of such deep emotions. I used to praise your father all the time for the training he put you through. You were really the perfect killer. Until her."
He removes a gun from the back of his trousers and he points it at Lina. I react instinctively, putting myself in front of her, shielding her.
Nicolo's laughter echoes in the room right before he presses the trigger. I let out a gasp as the bullet embeds itself in my shoulder. Lina's hands reach out for me, her expression mirroring the pain I'm feeling.
"Marcello," Her mouth open, she looks in disbelief as blood gushes out of my shoulder, mingling with the already dried blood of my other wounds.
"I'm fine." I croak, trying to give her an assuring smile.
"Just kill me," I turn to address Nicolo. "Just kill me and let her go, please."
"Why would I do that, when your pain gives me so much joy?" He smirks, rotating the gun around his fingers. "You can't die just yet."
"Why?" I croak, still using my body as a shield between Nicolo and Lina. "I don't understand why you'd go through so much trouble to impersonate Chimera for years just to torment me. Why?"
It makes no sense. If he were only after my position, he would have killed me a long time ago. So why do this? Why use psychological tricks when he could have just attacked me in the open?
"That's the thing, boy. You don't even know..." His mouth curls up in anger, baring his teeth at me. His face immediately darkens, his hand still waving the gun around.
"TELL ME, DOES YOUR wife know you killed your own mother?" Nicolo asks smugly. Lina hasps, and she looks at me in disbelief. I shake my head.
"She killed herself. I had nothing to do with it." I declare confidently. That's one thing he can't accuse me of.
"You didn't?" He raises an eyebrow before heading to the back of the room where the burial places are. I quickly turn to Lina, trying to get her free before he comes back.
"If you see an opening, just run, ok?" I touch her face tentatively, reveling in her presence one last time.
"What about you?" She asks, her voice hoarse. I give her a small head shake.
"It doesn't matter. I'll hold him back." I know that in my current condition I won't be able to put too much of a good fight, but maybe I can buy Lina some time to run away.
"Go to your brother. He'll know what to do." I say, barely finishing the sentence before Nicolo comes back, carrying with him an object covered by a white cloth.
With one last tug, Lina's wrists are free. I move quickly in front of her so Nicolo doesn't notice.
He spreads the cloth reverently on the floor, slowly unraveling it to reveal a human skull.
"He killed you, didn't he, dear?" He coos to the skull, a tender expression so antithetic to my uncle's usual countenance spreading on his face.
"Since he was born, he was nothing but a pest." He continues, his face turning malevolent as he turns to me. "You killed her, you made her sick." He spews, his words full of hate. Cradling the skull to his chest, he raises to his feet and brings up his gun again, pointing it towards Lina.
"You killed the person I loved the most, so I'll do the same to you."
"Wait!" I call out, looking for any way to delay this and get Lina an opening to escape. Nicolo clearly isn't mentally well, and that makes the whole situation tricky. "I swear I didn't do it. I watched her take her own life. I was only thirteen."
"You damned her entire existence before you were born!" He yells, the most he's raised his voice so far. "I loved her, damn it! I loved her, but Giovanni got to her before me. And because she was already pregnant, she had to marry him. She had you, and her life was over! You think I didn't see the bruises? The way he treated her? Worse than a goddamn whore and she was his wife! You damned her to an existence worse than death!"
Biting back a sarcastic retort, because really, I had no agency as an embryo, I keep prodding, desperate to make him talk so he can get distracted.
"So that's why you masqueraded as Chimera? To pay me back for what? For being born?" He narrows his eyes at me, and I move closer to Lina, ready to become her shield once more.
Unexpectedly, though, Nicolo laughs. He bends down, clutching his stomach. "Boy," he rasps out, struggling to breathe. "You think that was the first time I played with you?" He emits an indistinct sound, as if he's trying not to choke on the amusement I'm unwittingly providing him with. "I was Giovanni's right hand. One word here, one word there, and he made sure I didn't have to do any dirty work. For a time..."
"What do you mean?" I frown at the new information.
"Sure, your father wanted you to be a feared made man. But he didn't have to go that hard on you. The killings, the whores... I just had to look at you to see you were losing yourself more and more, until you became a shell of a person. You embraced our family legacy and were miserable for it. That was my joy. Liliana was suffering, but so were you. Until she died." He sneers the words, going back to the skull and caressing it affectionately. "After that, all bets were off."
He raises his eyes to give me a chilling look. "Who do you think told Giovanni about the Agosti girl? I knew the moment you started circling around her that she was different. Suddenly I had the best opportunity for revenge."
Lina's breathing becomes harsher, and I place my hand on her leg, offering whatever comfort I can.
"I'd been waiting for an opportunity like that for years. At first I thought that you'd likely OD from all the shit you were doing, but no, you had to clean up your act for her. That you talked to Agosti for her hand cemented it for me. I knew that through her I could do the most damage." He laughs, clearly proud of himself.
"What did you tell father?" I probe, willing my mind to disregard the pain in my body.
"That he should test your loyalty. The girl or the famiglia. I knew which one you'd choose." He motions at Lina with his gun, and my entire body tenses. "But I miscalculated. I didn't realize just how much you were willing to do for her. And then you both disappeared without a trace." His lips curl in annoyance. "You have no idea how long I searched for you."
"Until you found me. Two years ago." I add, the first date the fake Chimera started killing.
Nicolo grins. "After that it wasn't too hard. I've always preferred long, drawn out wars, makes the enemy squirm. Like you did when you saw that nun."
I blink twice, suddenly realizing the connections. Adrian's forensic specialists had suggested that the female was being cared for more than the males... in a religious manner. Mother... he was doing it all for mother.
"You were so busy feeling sorry for yourself, you didn't even realize how close I planted my people. The convent was even easier to infiltrate. Guerra, Sister Elizabeth... Mother Superior. Not too hard to give them a little push."
"You... You knew that Father Guerra was a pedophile, didn't you?" Lina whispers, speaking for the first time.
His smile is full of malice as he smirks. "Of course. That was the goal all along. She is, after all, Marcello's daughter."
"Lord..." Lina gasps, and I wish I could hug her to my chest and take all of her worries away.
Once again, everything is happening because of me.
"And then the notes." She adds, realizing the d
egree to which Nicolo had played both of us.
"I needed you out of the house." He shrugs. "Bonus points for despising him. Amelia told me everything about it, and it was so pleasing to hear that. Especially your suicide attempt." Nicolo turns to me and smiles, satisfaction clear in his eyes.
"Suicide attempt?" Lina turns to me, horror in her eyes.
I shake my head "It wasn't like that."
"Of course, when you didn't actually die, I realized it's time to take it a step further."
"What do you mean?"
"It's rather simple. You are probably aware that even if you tackle me right now, the chances of escape are very slim. If you do what I ask you to, then your beloved might still have a chance."
"What do you want me to do?" I ask, my voice faltering from the pain in my arm. I'm already on the brink and I know it. Whatever he may have in mind won't change that.
"I want you to finish what you started. I want you to take this knife," he takes out the rusty knife again, "and slit your own throat. Die like my Liliana did."
Chapter Thirty
"... AND SLIT YOUR OWN throat. Die like my Liliana did." Nicolo's virulent words send shivers down my spine, the implications terrifying me.
I flinch, whipping my head around to peer at Marcello. He looks awful. Blood all over his body, I can see his face twitching in pain now and then.
He took a bullet for you...
And that hadn't been the only revelation of today. If what Nicolo says is true, and at this point I know it is, for years Marcello's been living a hellish existence, tormented by this psychopath.
"You give me your word of honor that she walks out alive and unharmed in any way?" Marcello finally speaks, and my heart collapses. Surely he doesn't mean to actually kill himself.
"I give you my word of honor." Nicolo replies, a smug look on his face.
"Give me five minutes with Lina and I swear I will do it."
"You have two." Nicolo rolls his eyes and steps back, still keeping his gun trained on us.
"Lina," His voice is ravaged by so much pain and anguish that I can't help but tear up.
Morally Blasphemous (Morally Questionable Book 2) Page 33