Adele Taylor was Yelena’s mother. That bitch set her own daughter up to be killed. What the fuck is wrong with her?
The man is going to want to tear Taras apart, but he’s mine to kill. He may have set up Nikolai’s wife to be killed, but he beat my woman until she was unconscious, and took my son. There’s no coming back for him. Not fucking ever.
“Nikolai,” Taras stutters. “What are you doing there?’
“What I do is none of your business, but thank you for the information that you set my wife up to be killed.”
“She’s still alive, isn’t she? She’s even more powerful than ever. How does she sleep at night, Nikolai? Hmm? I mean, you were married to her mom when she fucked you. She got pregnant, and now Adele’s dead and Yelena’s living the life that should have been her mothers.”
I glance at my brothers in shock. That was something we didn’t know. Hell, they kept that in house and didn’t let it get out. Not that I blame them. Yelena looks happy and Nikolai is protective of her, that’s all that matters. They’re together, and what they do is no one’s business but their own.
“Now, Taras,” I say, pulling his attention away from Nikolai, who currently looks homicidal. “Where is my son?”
Silence. The man really doesn’t like his wife, does he?
“Fine,” I laugh. “You can listen to her screams.”
I reach for her other hand and give it the exact same treatment I gave to the first. She’s a fucking wreck, her body shaking with both fear and sobs. She’s got her eyes closed tight, so she doesn’t have to look at her dismembered hands.
“Remember, Annika, this could have been avoided had your husband given a fuck about you,” I taunt her.
“He loves me,” she sobs.
I chuckle. “No, the man loves the power he thinks you’ll give him. He doesn’t love you. If he did, he’d have told me where my son is.”
She twists her head to look at me, and the anger and hatred in her eyes is clear to see. It’s mixed with fear and pain. “This is on you,” she spits. “This is your fault. You’ve done this to me.”
“I wonder,” Dante muses aloud. “Who thought it would be a bright idea to target not only the Italians and Irish, but also Joe Ranieri?”
“What?” Taras growls. “What does that maniac have to do with this?”
It’s Nikolai who answers. “You should really do your research, Taras. Had you done, then you’d have known that the woman you beat to a bloody pulp is the daughter of the so-called maniac.”
Chapter 26
Alessio
“No,” Taras snarls. “There’s no way.”
“My son,” I hiss. “Where is he?”
“Oh, so that means,” Dante taunts, “my nephew is also Joe’s grandchild. You’re more than fucked, Taras. When we find you, you’re going to be in for a world of hurt. You have a choice: tell us where you are and die easy, or don’t, and when we find you—because we will—you’ll be in unimaginable pain.”
“Dante, you should know better than to think I’ll give up where we are.”
“Ales,” Dante grins. “You know what to do.”
I smirk. Hell fucking yes. Now it’s time to play with this bitch. She wanted to be involved in this shit, now she’ll pay for it. “Tell me, Annika, just how much pain can you handle?”
“Your whore cried a lot, Alessio,” Taras tells me with glee. “She was sobbing and crying. The sweetest part was her standing in front of your son, trying to protect him.”
I grip Annika’s hair and pull her into a standing position.
“That cunt needs to keep his mouth shut,” I hiss at her so only she can hear me. “All he’s doing is making me angrier, and Annika, it’s you who’s going to feel the brunt of that anger.”
Her eyes flash with fear, but her bravado sinks in. “Fuck you.”
“Not even in your wildest dreams, bitch,” I snarl as I sink my knife into her side.