“What have you done?” she asked breathlessly, staring wide-eyed at her bound cousin.
“You said he hurt you.” I came up behind her and wrapped my hands around her waist, nuzzling her hair. “He’ll scream for that before I kill him. He’ll never touch you again, Nora.”
“But he’s family,” she protested weakly, not taking her eyes off his ruined face.
I knew she wasn’t talking about her blood relatives. In our organization, killing meant going to war.
But I was in charge now, and I’d murder anyone who threatened my true family, no matter how valuable their loyalty might be. I could’ve used Alberto’s support in the conflict with Luca’s men, and I definitely needed all the strength I could muster to hit back at the Bratva.
Nothing was worth her suffering, and every breath Alberto took was an insult to her.
“He tried to rape you, and Luca did nothing.” I sneered at my most hated enemy, and he bared his teeth at me, clutching at the bars of his cage as though he could rip them apart.
“You are my wife,” I reminded her. “I will risk anything for you. I told you that I always keep my promises, and I said that I would prove it to you. This is the proof. Alberto will scream before he dies, and you will never suffer at his hands again. It’s done. My only question now is: Do you want to watch?”
“Nora, please…” Alberto spluttered.
I stepped away from her with a frown, irritated at the interruption. That he would even dare to speak to her was another sin he would pay for before the end.
I delivered a swift, brutal punch to his jaw, and his head lolled forward. That would shut him up until I was ready for him to start begging for mercy.
I turned back to Nora and found her watching me, a curious expression on her face. I couldn’t quite puzzle out the emotions that played across her features as her gaze swung from me to Alberto and back again.
“I don’t want to watch,” she finally said, so quiet it was little more than a whisper. “But I…” She swallowed and dropped her eyes. “Thank you.”
The words were barely audible, but her gratitude hit me like a punch, knocking all the air from my chest. I stood there, stunned into silence, while I watched her slowly climb the stairs. She didn’t so much as glance back at her cousin as she left him to his fate. She was elegant and graceful as ever as she glided away from the carnage, serene in the knowledge that her tormentor would never hurt her again.
Because of me. I’d done this for her.
Satisfaction glowed in my chest, and her soft words of gratitude played through my mind like a sweet song. I’d sworn that I would prove myself to her, and this was only the beginning. I’d slaughter all of her enemies.
I would earn her trust little by little, and her affection for me would grow stronger with every drop of blood I spilled in her name.
When she was gone, I turned to Luca once again. “You didn’t do what was necessary to protect her,” I gloated, relishing the shame that darkened his cheeks. “I will do anything for my wife.”
“I should’ve killed Alberto myself,” he confessed through gritted teeth. “My biggest regret now is that you’ll be the one to end him. But I will gladly watch him suffer and die, even if I can’t wield the knife that guts him.”
He was trying to tell me that he could ignore the shame of his failure. He thought he could steal a piece of my glory by taking satisfaction in witnessing Alberto’s demise.
That wouldn’t do.
Maybe it was the high from Nora’s gratitude, or maybe it was the rush of violent triumph from killing my Russian enemies, but something made a half-mad idea spark in my mind. It would be risky, but the reward would be worth it. Even if I was gambling with my life. That just made the experience more thrilling.
I approached the bars of Luca’s cage, getting close enough that he could reach out and strangle me. His knuckles went white around the bars, and he made no move to lunge for me.
His loyalty to his friends, my prisoners, kept him from murdering me.
I would test his obedience and show him just how powerless he was against me.
I rested my hand on the hilt of the hunting knife that I had holstered to my belt. “If I give you a blade, you won’t cut me with it, will you?” I taunted.
A growl slipped between his bared teeth, but he still didn’t make a move to grab me. Or the knife.
“I’m in a good mood,” I mused. “I’ll let you be the one to torture Alberto.”
His hand would be my own, guided by my will. Even with a weapon, Luca was no threat to me. I’d thoroughly crushed his pride, and this new game with him was nearly as delicious as watching him wrestle for self-control while I toyed with Nora. He wanted to kill me more desperately than he wanted his next breath, but he wouldn’t make a single move against me. Not as long as Gabriele’s and Lorenzo’s lives were on the line.
Luca swallowed hard. “Give me the knife,” he rasped, “and Alberto will be the only one screaming today.”