They went still for a second, then did as they were told.
“Am I still allowed to run the casino?” Brando asked.
Carlo went pale. There was a beat of silence before he gave a small nod.
“Take care of yourself, little bird,” Brando said, glancing at me before turning toward the door.
Before he stepped out, Carlo called after him. “You won’t get any support from me. You’re on your own.”
Brando paused. When he turned back, his voice was quietly broken. “I’ve been on my own for ten years.”
And with that, he walked out.
Carlo watched him go for a long moment. Then, like nothing had happened, he turned to Aida. “Serve dessert.”
He surprised me with a single line after dinner. “I have a gift for you.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Aida smirking to herself. I glanced at Carlo. He didn’t exactly strike me as the gift-giving type. Didn’t suit his face, his vibe,anything, really.
He stood. “Follow me.”
There he was again, barking orders like I was one of his men. Maxim and Lorenzo got up and followed without question. I trailed behind them, like a clueless chick chasing its mother. Carlo led us outside, stopping at the foot of the steps and waiting for me.
“You didn’t buy me a dog, did you?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.
“Oh, no.You can’t have a dog. Or a cat. Diablo would tear apart anything else that breathes in this house. And I mean that literally. He might not look it, but he’sextremelyjealous.”
I looked over at his ugly black dog, standing near the small hut it called home, eyes fixed on me with pure hatred. That beast, like its owner, always looked like it wanted to kill something.
I tensed instinctively.
Carlo leaned in a little closer. “You don’t need to be scared of him. He’s well-trained, won’t move an inch unless I tell him to. Well, except for those rare moments when he loses it. Then not evenIcan control him.”
As if that was supposed to make me feel better. One look into the dog’s ugly eyes, and I could tell, it was waiting for an excuse to rip me apart.
Carlo called out, and in under a second, the beast was rubbing its grotesque snout against his legs. He crouched down and began stroking the dog with surprising tenderness. It was off-brand for him. But the way he touched it, there was love in every motion. Did he even know he was capable of that?
Once he finished doting on his black devil, we headed toward a small stone cabin in the woods behind the mansion. But instead of using the front door, he led me down a side path straight to the basement.
The moment we stepped inside, the air turned cold and thick. It stank of rot and damp, sweat and metal. Groans echoed off the stone walls, guttural and inhuman.
I stopped walking. Carlo didn’t. He grabbed my hand and pulled me forward. The deeper we went, the worse it got. The air was soupy with the stench of sweat, excrement and blood. I covered my nose with one hand but it didn’t help. The smellclung.
As we passed through a narrow corridor, the source of the stench finally came into view. A large metal cage stood in the corner, with Maxim and Lorenzo stationed outside.
Inside, three men lay crumpled on the floor, dressed in nothing but bloodied, tattered underwear. Their faces were unrecognizable, swollen, shattered, and their bodies, worse.
The sight turned my stomach. I gagged and instinctively yanked my hand from Carlo’s but he didn’t let go.
“They’re Giuseppe’s men,” he said. “The ones who tried to take you that night, after I made itcrystalclear no one was to come near you. I’d already laid out the punishment. They knew the price. And still, they chose Giuseppe. Since you were the one they tried to take, you’ve earned the right to see what happens next.”
He paused. A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Consider this my gift to you.”
“Thank you, Carlo, but I don’t want to see it.”
He raised an eyebrow. “When the Capo gives an order, you obey.”
“Please, Carlo…” I begged.
