Chapter 8 - The Confession on the IceDario choked for air, struggling beneath the crushing weight of the massive mastiff sitting heavily on his chest. Blood trickled from his nose where Titan’s paw had grazed him.
"Get this beast off me!" Dario spat, thrashing wildly in the snow.
Nico didn't move. He lowered himself onto one knee, pressing the barrel of the rifle harder against Dario’s forehead until the metal left a red indentation in the skin.
"Where is the ledger, Dario?" Nico asked softly. "The real one. The one that proves Vittorio murdered our mother."
Dario laughed, coughing up a mixture of snow and blood. "You think... you think dad keeps a diary of his crimes? You're insane. If you kill me, the feds still have the warrant. You're a wanted man in forty states, Nico. You're dead either way."
"I'm not going to kill you," Nico said.
Dario blinked, surprised. "What?"
"I’m going to let you walk back to your car," Nico said, his steel-gray eyes boring straight into his brother's soul. "Drive back to Beacon Hill. Tell Vittorio that his golden boy didn't break. Tell him I'm coming back for the house, for the name, and for every drop of blood he spilled."
Nico stood up, whistling sharply. Titan stepped off Dario’s chest, though the massive dog didn't take its golden eyes off the enforcer for a single second.
Dario scrambled backward into the snow like a crab, scrambling to his feet, panting heavily. He looked at Nico as if he were staring straight into the gates of hell. Without another word, Dario scrambled into the Land Cruiser, threw it into reverse, and tore out of the clearing, showering snow in all directions as he fled back toward Boston.
Maya walked out onto the porch, lowering her rifle, looking at Nico with a mix of awe and disbelief. "You let him go? He’ll bring fifty men back by tomorrow night."
"Let him," Nico said, turning to look out over the endless white expanse of the New Hampshire mountains. "Vittorio thinks he owns the board. But he forgot one rule of the syndicate."
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"What rule?" Maya asked.
"A dead man has nothing left to lose," Nico replied, a cold, hard smile forming on his lips. "And neither does his dog."
