His cries are melancholic.
This is who I am.
A killer.
I continue pulling out his teeth until his mouth is a bloody mess. He’s shaking and shivering, and I can’t help but chuckle. The metallic scent hits my nostrils, and I breathe it in.
Next, I grab one of his fingers and position it within the metal teeth of the tool. Pushing the handle closed, I hear the crunch of bone before the cry of agony is wrenched from his mouth. He’s mumbling something incoherent, but I no longer care. I’m lost in the pleasure of torture.
“The Cavalieri is my family,” I tell him, while I break each finger slowly. “And Giuliana is the woman I will always love,” I murmur to the grate of the door opening, and there, in the doorway, with wide, shocked blue eyes, is the woman in question.
“Lance?”
Giuliana
My gaze flits between both men. One choking on his blood, the other drenched in crimson. He looks so happy with himself. As if this is his happy place.
“Baby girl?”
“What’s going on in here, man?” Seth saunters by me. Stepping into the room, he takes the pliers from Lance and checks out the man in the chair. The man who I was led to believe is Lance’s father.
“Arthur wanted him dead.”
“You’re not dead?” I ask stupidly. He’s standing there, talking to Seth, but his eyes haven’t left mine, holding me hostage. “I . . . I . . .”
He doesn’t say anything. He rushes me, pulling me into his arms, and I don’t care about the blood. All I can think about is that he’s not dead. The man in the chair wails in agony, and I glance around Lance’s broad body to see Seth chuckling as he slams the pliers into the crotch of the suited stranger.
“Jesus,” Seth grunts. “He didn’t last long,” he states, turning to Lance, and that’s when I smell the scent of urine filling the room. The man in the chair is dead. He’s not moving, and Lance pulls me from the dank room, along the hallway.
“Take care of this,” he orders Seth, who nods in agreement. “Come,” he urges me. “We need to talk.” His voice is croaky, filled with confusion, pain, and fear. My body is trembling, and I realize I’ve just seen a man be tortured by Lance. I’m soaked in blood from his hands, but I’m not crying. At first, I thought it would affect me more than it should.
He tugs me into an office. There’s beautiful furniture, and I’m confident this is the room where all the deals are made. Just like my father’s dark yet opulent office. Lance sits on the sofa, pulling me to settle beside him.
“You saw that, and I didn’t—”
“You’re alive,” I exalt once more, still confused at what I saw.
Lance nods. “It was part of your father’s plan,” he informs me. “He thought I would be taken out by some overgrown asshole.” The corner of his mouth kicks up into a wry smile. “I’ve been trained in every type of takedown, and all I did was pass out,” he explains. “Your father wanted Vincent dead, but what he doesn’t know is that man wasn’t my father.”
“Then who was he? What did he have to do with my dad?”
“That man was my family, my uncle. My father’s brother. You see, when Vincent died, his brother took over, acting as if he’d just been away.”
“Twins?”
Lance shakes his head, then responds, “No, they look similar, but not twins. He played the part well, but when my mother stood in front of me, she told me that it’s not him. Her whisper saved my life because I knew Arthur wanted him dead.”
“But he wanted you dead too.”
“When Vincent showed me the contracts he’d signed with your father, I noticed Arthur’s coded message in the wording. He knew Vincent would show them to me, and my orders were clear. As much as he hated you and me together when you were younger, he’s finally conceded that he has to step back.”
“But—”
“The folder.” Lance rises, heading to the desk, and brings over the familiar manila file. Opening it, he sets it on my lap. There’s an agreement, one that says Lance will remain Cavalieri if he took out his father, who Arthur believed was the man downstairs.
“But this is . . . This means . . .”
“He’s given me his blessing, but it comes with stipulations,” he agrees. “But I would rather work for your father, and have you than be on the run from the Cavalieri because he will try to kill me if I took you without his permission.”