Again. I’d resurrect them to murder them again, and again.
I’m breathing heavily, as though I’ve run a mile at a sprint. They’re done. This has to be enough.
It’s not.
A few steps and I’m punching first one then the other across their bloodied faces, time after time. I beat them until my arm tires, and I step back. They’re unrecognisable.
“And this,” Bogdan says dryly from beside me, handing me a cloth that I take a second to realise he means me to clean my knuckles with. “Is why we interrogated and photographed them before Angel arrived.”
It’s only then that I notice I’m surrounded by a dozen of my best men. They waited for me. I catch more details then. The coverings on the floor. The video camera set up to the side. A pile of handwritten notes.
Bogdan knew I would lose my cool.
I take a deep breath and am shocked to find it’s shaky in a way I’ve never been before. I clean my hands and check my suit before tossing the cloth away. Killing men who deserve it doesn’t bother me, but the importance of revenge for them touching Caterina rocked me.
“Did you get the information?”
“Da. The Geraci kingpin is as good as dead.”
“Good.” The calm settles onto me, a heavy blanket.
Now to return to what really matters: moya koshechka.
When I get back, Caterina, far from being grilled, is lounging in a comfortable chair, sipping a drink, and chatting with Jessa Lambeth.
“The business strategy for my interior design company differs from what I do for Lambeth,” Jessa is saying, and I pause to watch.
Caterina has charmed them all, of course she has. She didn’t know it, but these are her people. I intend to keep my distancefor a few minutes, but as though she feels the connection between us too, Caterina turns and sees me. And sweet as it is to regard her, the hint of a smile when our gazes meet is pure sugar.
I’m at her side in an instant.
“Did she pass?” I ask Jessa abruptly, not taking my eyes off Caterina.
“Yes, and?—”
“Good. Because I have something I want to discuss with my captive.”
Caterina blinks. “I’m enjoying myself.”
I have no patience for this. I need to have her alone. I lean down, and whisper into Caterina’s ear. “Don’t make me toss you over my shoulder, moya koshechka.”
She gasps. “You wouldn’t.”
And that’s where she’s totally wrong, because I grab her up, and holding her sweet thighs, carry her out with her cute butt close enough to kiss when she pummels my back.
It’s not kidnap. It’s love.
13
CATERINA
He puts me down into the back seat of a car and slides in beside me, cool as you like.
Everything I thought I knew about Brody has been turned upside down today. I don’t know what to think.
Sliding his phone from his pocket wordlessly, Brody hands it to me.
On the screen are two men side by side. Eyes closed. My body knows what this is before my brain does, and I’m shaking. I try to form words, but I can’t. I just nod.
