19. "Blood-Stained Reckoning"

Andrew DeLuca

The pain throbbed in my body as I tried to keep my mind clear. That night had been a nightmare, a bitter reminder of how my world could unravel in seconds.

Flashback:

It all started when I headed to the nightclub. It was something I did quite frequently, a temporary escape from the responsibilities and dangers of my world. That night, I chose the company of a woman I had been with a few times before. It wasn't anything serious, just a physical connection that helped me forget, at least temporarily, the woman who had ensnared me in her web.

"Lorenzo, come with me, buddy," I insisted that my consigliere join me at the club.

"I'm good, DeLuca," he replied, and I immediately grew suspicious.

The Lorenzo I knew would never turn down a night at the club, no doubt about it. He must have been meeting some girl.

"You're in love, aren't you?" I grinned.

"No, I just don't want to go. Have fun. But what about you