Quickly glancing up into Roman’s obsidian eyes, I see the sheer thrill pulsing out of them, and damn it, why does it make me so happy? I look back at Antonio, smirking at the way his knees shake and his skin grows clammy with nervousness. “I can tell by the glistening in Roman’s eyes, he’s really going to enjoy this. I’m just sorry that Marcus doesn’t get to be here to watch the show. But don’t you worry, I’ll film it just for him. It will be like his very own, private snuff film. I bet he’ll love it. It’ll be like all his Christmases come at once.”
Levi laughs, and as I turn around and take in the overwhelming pride stretched over his face, something warms in my dead, cold heart. Though once this moment is over and we’re back in the Escalade, I know things are bound to go back to the way they were. “Come on,” I tell him, nodding toward Antonio before holding out my hand. “Give me your phone so I can capture this for Marcus.”
Levi strides toward me, not skipping a beat as he hands me his phone. “A snuff film would be great, but you know Marcus, he likes to be in on the action. You’re best to call him on FaceTime.”
I grin up at him, hating how much I love the way his eyes sparkle with joy. “I like the way you think.”
“Ha,” he scoffs. “You say that now.”
I shake my head as I pull up Marcus’ contact details. “Don’t ruin a good thing.”
Levi laughs and strides past me, putting himself right in front of his cousin as I hit call and hold up the phone. “This is going to be fun. Just like old times, only now, you’re the fucker who’ll be on the ground screaming for mercy.”
Antonio spits something venomous in Italian and I ignore him to smile sweetly up into the screen. It rings three times before Marcus answers the call, his handsomely rugged face appearing before me. He gets one look at me and his brows furrow. “Shayne?” he questions. “What the fuck is going on? Why do you have Levi’s phone?”
“SURPRISE!” I call, reangling the camera to get his brothers and Antonio in the background. “Don’t be mad, but I kind of got distracted when going downstairs for pain meds and ended up on a field trip. But Roman kinda explained what went down with this fucker, and seeing that you can’t be here in person, I didn’t want you to miss out on all the fun.”
Marcus raises his brow, astonishment settling into his feature. “Damn, babe. Not gonna lie. This is almost as sweet as being woken up to your tight little cunt dropping down over my cock. Woah! Is that Antonio? Hey man. How’s it been? Long time no talk,” he says, smirking through the camera before continuing. “Look man, I really wish I could have been there to see you off, but it is what it is. I hope you rot in hell, you backstabbing little fuck. Oh, and by the way, I railed your mom when we were sixteen. She was a bit sloppy, but fuck man, she knew what she was doing.”
“Get fucked,” Antonio roars just moments before a loud shot rings out.
A piercing scream tears out of me just as Levi’s hand curls around my arm and throws me down to the ground. The phone goes sliding under one of the many coffee tables and I peer over it to watch as Antonio slips out of Roman’s grasp and spits a few more angry words in Italian. His gun aims toward me and I shriek just as it goes off again, narrowly skimming past my face and piercing the window behind me.
I slam down to the ground, dropping lower. “Holy fuck,” I gasp. Levi warned me this could get messy and that Antonio would see me as a target, but damn, I hadn’t actually thought it would happen. Though the fact that Antonio has been able to get two shots off only goes to show he truly does have some level of skill, but he couldn’t possibly be a match for Roman and Levi. At least I hope not.
My face squishes against the expensive tile and I’m just about to compliment Roman on his pristine taste in home decor when I hear Marcus’ familiar tone. “SHAYNE,” he hollers through the phone. “What the fuck is happening? I don’t see shit.”
“Oh, fuck. Sorry,” I rush out, reaching under the table and scooping up the phone. The mix of adrenaline and painkillers pulsing through my veins making it so much easier to push through the pain.
I flip the phone around, giving Marcus the best view as Roman slams his gun into Antonio’s back again, letting off three quick shots, none of them kill shots but definitely enough to cause a slow and painful death, giving them just enough time to play with him first.