“What’s your name?” I asked her.
“Lina,” she said in a small voice.
“Pretty name.” I stood before her, my cock aching at the sight of her parted mouth. I could almost feel those lips around my cock, but as quickly as that image came, it was replaced by another. A woman who was the exact opposite of the one in front of me, one with fire and brimstone in her eyes. A woman who made me want to own every inch of her.
I unzipped my pants. “Open wide for me, kitten.”
* * *
They cried They all did when I unleashed the beast. They cried in pleasure, in pain, in fear. Lina’s cries were beautiful. She’d caught me on a bad day, and unbeknownst to her, she’d given herself up for the sins of another. I didn’t lose it like I had with the last one, but I was brutal. That was the only way I knew how to be.
I stopped outside Gaia’s door. Why was she not crying? Pleading to be set free? Why was she so stubborn? I always took what I wanted, so why was I so hesitant when it came to her? I remembered my father's last words… I would not let a woman soften me, not this time.
I should go in there and fuck her into oblivion. Instead, I made my way to my bedroom, where there was nothing but silence. The master suite used to be my father’s. It’s pretty messed up that I’d want to sleep in the room where his life had ended. The old furniture and decor had been stripped away, modernized, but it was still the place where he’d drawn his last breath. It was something I remembered every single night when I went to bed and each morning when I woke. Sleeping here gave me the drive I needed, it pushed me to do what Luther had failed to.
I turned on the shower in my ensuite and stripped down. Stepping under the hot spray, I hung my head, slamming my fists into the wall. It was time to send a louder message to Russo. He knew they were here, but he was playing a game. It was time I played along.
* * *
Gabriel was the male version of Gaia. They had the same green eyes and raven hair, but his skin was paler and his cheekbones sunken in from years of substance abuse. I watched him as he snorted some cocaine, turning my nose up. Of all the things I was, a junkie was never one of them. The plan was simple: rough him up a bit and get the news to daddy dearest.
I watched as Bors delivered a blow to his midriff. The boy curled into a fetal position then scurried back for a sniff. I shook my head. Bors kicked him in the side and he flinched. His sister had more balls than he did. The cut above his lip oozed blood.
“Now you tell your daddy to come to get you, or I’ll be sending you to him in pieces.” Bors enjoyed beating people up a bit too much. What was supposed to be just a rough-up turned ugly pretty fast with a guard having to take the brunt of it because Bors had not had enough. He ended the video he was shooting then left to send it to Charles.
“Clean him up. She can’t see him like this.” I ordered.
I had other business to take care of.
* * *
Iwalked into the basement room where Edward Russo sat bound to a chair. He’d been here as long as the twins had, but his accommodations were not as favorable. The place stank. His head was bent at an awkward angle. As far as his brother Charles was aware, Edward was away on business, but I wasn’t sure I would be able to keep it that way much longer.
His eyes shot open when I entered. “It’s been a while, Edward.” I sat in a chair in front of him. “The accommodations have been to your satisfaction, I hope.”
“I don’t know anything, Arthur. I have been trying to tell that to your men. If I did -”
“That’s not what I want to talk about Edward. A couple of corpses on my property don’t bother me What bothers me is your plans to end me, as you call it, and the fact that you are working with Stephen Castello.”
“I - I have no idea what you mean, Arthur, I’ve been loyal to you for years. I would never-”
“Shut up, Edward. You know how much I despise hogwash, don’t you?”
He nodded. His eyes shot to the door as it opened, and a young man was led in. The man, probably in his late teens or early twenties, was dressed in jeans and Politecnico di Milano University t-shirt. He was a skinny boy, but tall, like his father. Bors picked him up for me in Italy. The buy tried to make a run from him, but it was all in the vain.
“Your greatest weakness is underestimating my reach and my power.”
He shook his head from side to side. “Arthur, please, just listen to me.”
“Dad, what’s going on?” The young man asked. The boy had been the younger Russo brother’s little secret. His son, Lorenzo. The thing about being a family involved in organized crime is you must always do your best to keep your love life and children a secret. It did not always work, but we all tried because the last thing you’d want was to hurt those you loved.
“There is always collateral in war, Russo. Too bad you chose the wrong side.”
`’No!” He yelled. “That is not the case. I swear-”
“What are your brother’s plans for the gala he’s hosting next week?’
“I don’t know. He never lets me in on those things.”
