Arthur
“Arthur.” The voice oozed confidence. I clutched the phone in my hands.
“What do you want, Russo?”
“You have something that belongs to me, and I have something that belongs to you.”
I sighed. “What could you possibly have that I want?”
“Let’s just say, there are cameras everywhere on my brother's property.” His words sent chills through me.
“If you want to live, Russo, you’ll make sure not a hair on her head is harmed.”
“Well, that leaves a whole lot of other parts for me to harm.”
I gritted my teeth, putting the call on speaker and connecting the Cavalieri. “Where do we do the trade?”
“There will be no trade, Calthorpe. You will release my son, call off the eyes on my family, and we will let your princess live.”
“There is more to this isn’t there, Edward? It’s why you won’t touch her. Your brother on the other hand is a sick fuck,” I hadn’t thought about it before, but it was so obvious now. “The children aren’t Charles Russos, are they?”
“No, they’re not.” He admitted. ‘But don’t test me, Calthorpe. I’ll pull the trigger on this one in a heartbeat if you don’t give me my son.”
“You’ve gotten brave, Edward. My deal was simple, your brother for your son, instead, you decide to cross me.”
“No more talking. You have three hours.”
I had wanted to put a knife to that double crosser’s throat at the party, but had realized that we were outnumbered, and with Giorgia suspecting there was more going on between Gaia and me, I could not risk it. The bitch had cornered me, offering herself to me, and when I declined, it was as if she put two and two together.
She’d told me I was playing a dangerous game. She had no idea how dangerous it would get.
* * *
It took less than a minute to track his whereabouts and an hour later, Kay dragged Edward Russo in by his collar. As I’d known all along, Edward had been bluffing. While he had caught some footage of Gaia and me in the foyer, you couldn’t see much. She was safe, for now at least.
He was now lying on a metal table while his son sat on a bed in another room, visible through the two-way mirror. Edward had screamed when he first got in there, but the young Russo had been none the wiser since everything was soundproof. Aside from being a little worse from wear, the boy was fine. We hadn’t let him bleed out; we were not always cruel and heartless. Lorenzo Russo hadn’t done anything to us. We’d let him go eventually.
Kay fastened metal clasps around Edward’s ankles and wrists.
“I don’t like threats,” I said as I stared down at him. “I never have. Especially when they are made toward those I care about.”
“Arthur-”
I slipped on a pair of rubber gloves. The table beside me was set with all the toys I needed for this game. I reached for a dental gag and propped it into his mouth, extending it until Russo screeched in pain. I always liked this part, the sound of the jaws dislocating, the way their eyes bulged opened in disbelief.
“I don’t think I want you to talk anymore, Russo. It’s offensive. If you’re not going to be useful, I’m afraid I can’t keep you around.” I held his tongue with forceps then used a scalpel to sear it from his mouth, putting it into a small metal dish. I’d intended to send it to Charles Russo but thought better of it.
“That’s better, isn’t it? No tongue, no talking, no lies.”
His eyes were wide in pain, guttural muffled sounds escaping. “I can still hear you though.” I cocked my head to the side.
Reaching for a cloth, I stuffed it into his mouth, making sure to push it down his throat. It quickly started soaking up with blood, so I shoved it farther in then forced in another one for good measure. I then used some masking tape to secure it over his mouth and nose. He was turning blue in the face, his eyes protruding. I hit a button, and the table moved into a vertical position. I hate that this was all happening so quickly. I wanted to savor this one.
“Watch Russo. Look at what you could have had if you hadn’t double-crossed me.”
His son sat in the other room, oblivious to what was going on in here. I left the room as the life seeped from Russo. It was time to end this.
I showered and strolled into my office. When I was younger, they called me the grim reaper. I hadn’t gotten my hands dirty until these bastards provoked me, and it was about to get a whole lot worse for all those involved.
I pressed a button, and Russo answered on the first ring.
