He cocked a brow. “And that is?”
“That you’re an evil, manipulative bastard.”
He shook his head. “You see, that is your perception of me.”
“It’s the fucking truth.”
“That’s it. I’m slitting her fucking throat right now!” Vico stormed toward me, eyes wide and evil. The look of hatred on his face should have scared me; it should have intimidated me. It was probably his intention to create fear inside me. But he didn’t know that Castello helped me conquer my fear. He made me envision Vico’s face and feel rage and power rather than panic and dread.
I squared my shoulders, made myself taller, and kept my glare on him. I refused to cower. But as he rushed forward, Carlo jumped up and grabbed Vico by the arm.
“Did I not tell you to leave us?”
“I want her dead.”
“I don’t care what you want. I call the shots.”
Vico clenched his jaw. “She killed our mother, Carlo. If it weren’t for this bitch, our mother would have been here to see this plan through with us.”
“I get that. And Tatum will be punished in due time.”
Vico leaned closer to Carlo’s face. “Funny, that’s exactly what Castello said, and look how that turned out.”
Even as determined as I was to not show fear, shivers spread along my body. But I tried my best to remain still as I watched them. They stared at each other in silence, Vico’s face clouded with anger while Carlo’s face remained stoic yet firm.
“Leave us.” Carlo let go of Vico’s arm, and Vico straightened his suit jacket.
He glared my way. “I don’t know what the fuck it is about you, but I’m starting to think you have unicorn pussy.” His eyes were black as he licked his lips, slowly approaching me. “But before you die, before I slit your fucking throat, I’ll taste that cunt of yours to see for myself if it’s really that good.”
He stopped in front of me, his face inches from mine…and then I spat right in his face. The blow that followed happened so fast. His hand collided with my face, my cheek instantly on fire, and I tasted blood in the corner of my mouth a second later.
Vico seethed. “That little stunt just earned you a slow, painful death, bitch.”
The hate that coated each and every word sunk straight down to my soul. Every bone in my body felt it. Even after he left, walking out the door, I still felt his loathing for me. It was toxic, threatening to break the courage I was so desperate to cling on to.
“Okay, now that he’s gone, let’s continue.” Carlo turned around, his entire demeanor calm and under control. He looked at me with a cocked brow. “Dear God, Tatum. Seeing this fire in you is making me so fucking hard right now. No wonder my twin brother chose fucking you above loyalty to his own family.”
My nostrils flared as my anger only continued to rise, causing me to take quick, shallow breaths. Carlo adjusted his filthy cock in his pants. “So, as I was saying, I…no,weneeded a real good reason for us to want to take out your family. Despite what you might think, we can’t just go around killing people in cold blood with no reason. We had to make it seem like we had the right to kill the Linscotts. We couldn’t risk an uprising against our family because we started killing people for money. Besides, being bankrupt is not something we wanted the entire world to know.”
I wrapped my arms around my waist. “So what now? Obviously your plan didn’t work.”
“Because my brother thought with his dick and not his head.”
“Nevertheless, your family has been torn in two. Everyone thinks it’s war between Vico and Castello. How do you plan on re-entering the world with…”
And then it all came together. Everything clicked, my mind finally piecing together the puzzle. “You still plan on killing Castello. Still plan on pretending to be him.”
Carlo started to clap his hands, his eyes beaming with pride. “My, my, but you are a clever one.”
“But you don’t know where Castello is. No one does.”
“Oh, I assure you, news has a way of traveling very fast in our world. And once word gets to Castello that Vico has you, he’ll come rushing back. Believe me, I’ve tasted that pussy between your legs. Men would kill—or die—for it.”
My insides coiled tight, my body cold as ice, yet I refused to show it. “What are you going to do?”
Carlo stalked toward me, and I pressed my back hard against the wall when he leaned into me his scent making me nauseas. “I’m going to kill him.” Again he traced his fingers down the side of my face, his touch making me sick. “But first, I’ll fuck you in front of him, show him that my cock can make you scream louder than his.”
Bile rushed up my throat as he kept on touching my face, but I swallowed hard before spitting out the words, “I know from experience you don’t have what it takes to satisfy me.”