Arthur
The last woman I’d let control me, ruined me, and she paid for it with her life. I was not about to allow that to happen again, but there was something about this Russo girl. No woman questioned me or stood up to me, it even took a big men like my knights to dare it. I allowed them the liberty because they were my blood, but this girl was pushing my limits.
Gaia Russo was not afraid or even intimidated by me, and that angered me. She needed to know what I was capable of. She had to see it for herself, so she’d understand the kind of man I was.
Gaia needed to learn a lesson. I’d never intended to hurt her, but she was stubborn and too damn cocky for her own good. I hadn’t asked for much from her, but she still fought me at every turn. She could’ve starved and stayed in that room forever for all I cared. She was the least of my concerns.
“I’ll deal with her,” Geraint said. “You don’t have to.”
“She’s a stubborn mare, and it is my job to break her. But I do have a job for you. Deliver a message to Russo. Tell him we have his children, and we’re going to kill them off one by one if he doesn’t show is face.”
He nodded and left the office. I wanted Russo to make his move and soon.
I had another problem on my hands because the Russos were not the only ones with the balls to double cross me. One of my major business associates in New Orleans had found himself on the wrong side of the law, and I had a feeling he was going to sing like a canary. Unfortunately for him, I could not let that happen.
I lit a cigar and waited. He’d be here soon, and we’d have to have a discussion about the future. As a young man working up the ranks for my father, men had feared meeting me, knowing it meant one of two things: they’d be tortured or killed quickly. Always the same outcome. Not much had changed. I’d always had a thirst for blood, and there were times like this that I brought the kill to me. The Cavalieri tried to keep my hands clean, and I appreciated that, but there was something inside me that wanted to be able to watch the life drain from a man while I took it.
I walked down the staircase, finding Geraint with a blindfolded Gaia. The base was not a place she or many were privy to see. Nobody but my men and I knew it even existed. He had her hands bound behind her back, and still, she seemed unafraid. Her bound like that was a hell of a sight. I stepped closer to her; her breathing remained even.
“It’s time for you to understand what happens to people who disobey me.”
She smirked, just a small tug at the corner of her lips. “I can’t wait.”
Geraint frowned. He didn’t like Gaia’s arrogance; he didn’t like that he didn’t get to slit her throat when she defied me. But that was not the plan. I would end her myself if it came to it. We walked into the lift and rode down to the basement in silence. Geraint walked Gaia to what we call the observation room while I entered the room next to it where William Chapman waited. He was in charge of one of my mining operations, reaping the benefits of working for the Calthorpes for many years. Unfortunately, he’d become greedy and started working with a gang who used my mine as their disposal grounds. A miner discovered a body while he was working and called it in. The feds then uncovered almost thirty bodies in that mine. It was time to put an end to that entire operation.
Did he understand the price he had to pay today?
The room had a two-way mirror, so I could not see her, but I knew Gaia was there, watching.
I took a seat opposite William. “Mr. Calthorpe, I didn’t realize we’d be meeting personally.”
I cocked my head to the side, taking in the older man. He was in his sixties, his hair thinning at the top and completely gray.
“This is a special occasion, Will. I hear our business has expanded?”
“Mr. Calthorpe, I swear I had nothing to do with any of it. They must have gained access after hours. I would never jeopardize our partnership.”
“You’re lying to me, William, and you know how I feel about liars. And what is worse, you’re conspiring against me with those Russos.”
I stood and stalked toward him, sitting on the table in front of him.
“I gave you power, prestige, wealth, and this is how you repay me? You lent out my property as a makeshift graveyard. Do you know how that makes me feel?” I ask while looking him straight in the eye.
He shook his head from side to side. “Please.”
“Let’s have a drink, shall we?” On cue, someone entered with two shots of whiskey. I stood and took the shots from my guard, placing them on the table in front of William, offering him what resembled a friendly smile.
“I thought we had an understanding.”
“We do -”
“Then that is cause for celebration. Right?” I cut him off, clapping my hands together before grabbing a glass and taking a sip from it. I shook my head, “You think I’d poison you?”
I took a sip of his too. “See?”
He reached for the glass, his hands shaking. I pulled out a vial and handed it to him.
“A way out,” I explained. “100mg of Conium maculatum L, otherwise known as hemlock, just for you. It was either that or skin you alive, but as much as I would’ve loved to do that, I do not have the time.”
