He only makes it to his knees before terror freezes him in place. Fine by me. I grab his hands, wrapping my fingers around both thumbs.
“Remember this next time you get a smart idea.”
I jerk downward. Bone breaks with a wet snap.
Cash screams, high and raw, and crumples forward, cradling his ruined hands against his chest.
“You broke my thumbs!” he wails. “You broke my fucking thumbs!”
I look down at him. Feel nothing.
That’s not entirely true. Somewhere beneath the cold control, there’s an echo of something. The helplessness from the hospital, maybe. The fear I couldn’t do anything about. The rage that’s been building since I watched a needle slide into my mother’s arm.
This, at least, I can control.
“Steal from the Andrettis again,” I say flatly, “and you die.”
I leave him wailing on the floor.
The private room in the casino’s restaurant feels like a different world. Leather and mahogany and moody lighting. Lorenzo sits alone, scotch in hand, stress carved into every line of his face.
“What’s on your mind, boss?” I ask, settling into the chair across from him. “Anything you need?”
He drains his glass before answering. “Sent Mia to Mexico to stay with her family until things settle down.” He scrubs a hand over his face. “She’s six months along. Walking around with that belly like a slow, easy target. It was driving me out of my fucking mind.”
“You think Kozlov would go after her?”
“I wouldn’t put anything past that bastard. I can’t risk her. Or our little girl.”
“Understandable.” I lean back, waiting.
“But you’re not here for my problems,” he shakes off his worry. “Tell me about Cash.”
“Handled. He got the message.”
“Can he walk?”
I allow myself a small grin. “His legs work fine. His hands might be compromised for a while, but he can still sell.
Lorenzo nods approvingly. “And the girl? Any progress?”
My jaw tightens. “I floated the idea of marriage. She’s thinking about it.”
“Make her think faster.” Lorenzo’s voice hardens. “I want Viktor drawn out. If we can grab him, we might get intel on his cousin pushing Lightning again. I’m tired of chasing these Bratva fucks around the city. I want my wife home, Matteo.”
The pressure settles on my shoulders like lead weight. Lightning flooded the streets a few months ago and left bodies stacked up across the city. The Bratva partnered with a motorcycle club to distribute it, and Viktor and his cousin are at the center of the whole operation.
“I’ll make it happen.”
“Good. And don’t just marry her. Sell it. Play the happy couple. Viktor’s possessive enough that seeing her with another man might make him sloppy.”
“Whatever it takes,” I promise, then head for the door.
Now I just have to convince a woman I barely know to marry a monster.
8
SIERRA
