Carlyle
Leaning back in my chair, I ran my hand over my head as my father and brothers waded into the room. I could tell just from a glance that they knew something was up, and I honestly enjoyed watching them squirm— well, not my father. He never squirmed.
Oran probably had the best picture of them all, and I’d taken all night to figure out how I wanted to approach this. My eldest younger brother had hiskittens, and he gave them a fair amount of trust.Granted, he supposedly thoroughly ensured they were completely and utterly helpless by that time. Of course, Mateo’s little problem had been rectified, so he was out.
Illya slipped into the room behind them to stand next to Theo, and I drummed my fingertips on my desk as I gazed at the four of them. Despite what she said, she hadn’t made any friends with anyone since coming here. It was a telltale indicator she wasn’t as ‘good’ as she pretended to be.
This was going to be hard on her.
“I’ve decided to let the Italian problem go for now. We have a bigger issue to deal with.” I’d been working on this a long time, well over a year now, and Oran opened his mouth only to pause when I held up my hand. “I said ‘I have decided’not ‘this is open to debate, but . . . ’, so allow me to continue before you start screeching.”
I let the silence stretch right to the cusp of discomfort before nodding, and I sat up to take a breath in preparation.
“I wondered about it at the time, but never got a real answer. How could a woman get you to fall in love with her, Mateo? Of course, money is a motivator, and that thing certainly had some need for it, if what I understand is true.” Illya pulled an uncomfortable face at my words, but Theo grabbed her arm to stop her from sinking back. “I’ve thought about it a lot, and while it’s not entirely unreasonable, you’re stupid enough to get a random pregnant, you were very torn up about its passing.”
“You made me kill her.” Mateo’s snarl wasn’t nearly as nasty as he thought, and I held up a hand quickly to silence him.
“The details don’t matter. The point is that you fell hook, line, and sinker for it in a very short amount of time. You were in California for a while, and yet, it wasn’t until late last year that your whirlwind romance happened. While I’m all for young love, life doesn’t work like that. So . . . ” Clapping my palms on the desk, I stood up to stare my youngest brother in his haggard, drawn face, and I had to actively fight back a smirk. “Was ityourmoney it was after, or did someone pay it to like you? Honestly, the second option there seems far more likely.”
“You’re an asshole, Carlyle.” My eyelid twitched at Mateo’s grumble, my lip curling up instead of out, and he visibly shrunk. “So, what’s your point?”
“My point is that my darling Isobel and her idiot brother knew Dad was going to hand me ownership of everything, and I certainly didn’t tell them.” My gaze flickered to Oran to narrow, and I stood up straight as the cogs worked behind his hazel eyes. “One of you bought an Italian slut sent to spy on you.”
“Even if she was working for the Italians, she’s dead. What’s that got to do with not taking them over?” Even now, after knowing how stupid and impractical he was, Mateo still sounded incredibly sad, and I rolled my eyes at him.
“You really haven’t learned anything, have you? You didn’t even know about my promotion, Mateo, which just leaves . . . ” Training my gaze on Oran, I stalked around my desk, and he tensed as his expression washed in stone. “Where are your whores now, Oran?”
“In case you didn’t remember, I properly break them, and if they don’t pass, I put them down myself.”
“Oh, I remember. Even if it was one of yourkittens, you’ve been living in England and have too much jealousy over me to go to the Italians, of all people— you know just as well as I do that they can’t get the job done.” I really, really,reallyenjoyed the confusion in the room right now, and I smirked at the irritation on Oran’s face. “I don’t think you’ve quite broken them as hard as you thought, Oran. That thing Mateo got pregnant was probably contacted by Isobel. Since it’s only fair, put all your kittens down.”
Oran paled, and for a brief second, I saw how much it pained him to contemplate what I’d demanded. Money aside, he loved his kittens in some fucked up way, but now was not the time to fight for their rights to live. He nodded, raking his hand through his perfectly styled hair, and I thought for a moment that his glasses fogged up.
“Illya.” Turning to her, I pursed my lips thinly, and Illya looked ready to just throw down. “I need you to prove your loyalty to me. Considering that thing was your friend, I can’t rule you out as a possibility.”
“Fine.” Croaking harshly, she had to physically pry Theo’s hand off her finger by clawing finger, and a thick bruise was already budding on her wrist. She pushed back her hair, her chin jutting out and determination glimmering in her bright, green eyes even as she gulped nervously. “What do you want me to do?”
Just at that moment, Carl popped open the door and wheeled in a sizeable box with just one item on it. The pliers were brand new, never been opened until today, and all eyes turned to him as he shuffled through the crowd. Theo sucked in a sharp breath, but I ignored him, glaring daggers at me to watch Illya’s birdlike features twist.
“Pick a limb— hand or foot.” This time, the demand rolled heavily off my tongue, and she shuddered noticeably as my brothers and father moved to the corner of the room. “You only have to do one.”
“That’s so dumb. Of course, I’m gonna do my foot, you . . . you . . . you asshole.” I let that slide as she sputtered wildly, her nerves stringing her voice like a bad violin. Kicking off her sneaker and yanking her sock, she straightened her shoulders before glaring me in the eye. “Theo leaves.”
“Fine.”Theo might actually kill me if he stays, anyway.He started hyperventilating the way a bull did right before bursting from the pen, and the veins bulged around the reddening scars on his face. His teeth ground loud enough to hear, and I almost grabbed the phone on my desk to call for someone to escort him out.
“I’m gonna kill you one day.” A sliver of fear struck me right between the eyes at his whisper— not a growl, not a snarl, but a very, very quiet, very shaky whisper. Theo shuffled out, his shoulders trembling, the back of a broken man.
For the first time, I realized how much it must suck to be in a relationship in which both participants work for me.
“Why did you chose this?” Snapping from the empty doorway, my gaze narrowed on Illya as she folded and worked her hands. “If it was about the pain, you could just poke me in the tit, and it’d be worse.”
“I don’t want your pain, Illya. I want proof. I believe wholeheartedly, you had nothing to do with that thing or any of this, but you know that’s not enough. I can’t have anyone question my employees. Just like Oran, I’m telling you to do something that will be very difficult on you, something that goes against everything you are. There’s nothing I can do that’ll cause you more pain than you’re constantly in. It’d be stupid to ask you to do anything else, too, because I need you for your looks. You need all your fingers, so I can’t just cut one-off.” Everything Illya had been through had been of someone else's making, and she’d fought so hard to getaway. Now, she’d have no choice but to inflict damage on herself. As someone who put self-preservation above all, it was the worst thing I could demand of her.
She gulped, her slender neck flexing before she nodded firmly, and Illya put her foot on the box to grab the pliers in trembling hands. The ribs gripped her toenail, and my stomach roiled at the sudden calm that lightened the atmosphere. Flexing her unstable grip on the tool, she gathered up her hair sloppily, and my brows rose when she punched herself in the upper abdomen.
Illya jerked her toenail off as a bloodcurdling, gurgled cry filled the room and echoed out the open door. She turned green, body heaving as her skin instantly slicked with a cold sweat. Nothing I’d ever seen was as horrific as this, but determination still defined her thin brows as she wiped away her tears. Blood seeped from her toe as she moved onto the next one, and she took a loud, rattling breath before ripping out that nail by the root.
I didn’t do the disservice of looking away, and Illya went through all five toes before dropping the pliers with a loud clatter. She didn’t collapse like I’d expected, flipping her hair even as it stuck to her face to glare at me. Tilting my head in acceptance, I clenched my jaw hard as she wobbled out, and the whole complex seemed to shudder when she leaned hard against the wall out of sight.
“Oran, bring all of them here. I’m going to watch you do the job to make sure you don’t try to hide one.” Glancing at my brother as he nodded, defeated, I scanned my brother standing, solemn, on one side of my office. “From now on, if you go against me, I won’t look the other way. You can pull that shit with Dad, but not me.”
Again, Oran nodded, the muscles in his arms straining as he clenched and released his fists in his pants pockets. Flickering to Mateo, my eyes narrowed into slits, and he looked about ready to throw up. Maybe, I’d been wrong, and letting my father take his reins was a mistake.
“You’re being sent to the city. I’ll give you the details when you get there. Fuck it up, and I’ll kill you myself, Mateo. I no longer have the time or inclination to deal with you. I’m not cleaning up your messes anymore.” Flicking my wrist at the door, both my brothers shuffled out quietly, and I sat up on my desk to run my hands up my face. My dad closed the door behind him, and I was left alone with a ringing in my ears.
