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Luca waits for me at the end of the hallway, leaning against the wall with a grim look.

“He’s ready,” he tells me. “We kept him breathing. But barely.”

“Good.”

He follows me down the stairs and through the hidden entrance that leads to the torture room. My childhood bedroom. Every time I enter, I remember the parts of me that were still weak, that would have probably been unable to stomach all the things I do now.

And every time I walk out of the room, I’m able to shed away that part of me. The reminder complete, my actions like a baptism.

Santori’s in the center of the room, chained and bloodied. He looks up when I enter. His mouth twitches into a sneer that falters when he sees the look on my face.

“Luciano-” he rasps, his voice hoarse.

“Don’t say anything,” I interrupts coldly. “This will go over much quicker if you don’t speak. But then again, I imagine there won’t be much of a difference.”

His chains click as he shifts, suddenly desperate. He hurt her. He kidnapped my wife and he killed one of my most loyal men.

I’m going to make he feels all the pain, times a hundred. I walk slowly to the metal tray near the wall. It holds everythingI need. Blades, pliers, a blowtorch, a bottle of whiskey. Not for him.

I shrug of my jacket, roll my sleeves up and turn to face him fully.

“I want you to feel it,” I say calmly. “Every second of what you felt when you dragged her out of that car. When you shot Rafael right in front of her.”

He flinches. And then I begin.

The first scream echoes off the walls as I sink the blade into his thigh, slowly methodically. I’m not in a rush. Every slice is deliberate, every scream a lullaby to my fury. I shatter his kneecap with a hammer, peel skin, break fingers one by one. He confesses to every action. To sending his men to their death as a taunt, to killing my men and then ultimately working with Miguel in order to take me down.

I don’t stop. I keep going until I get what I want. Until his tears mix with blood. And then when I grow tired, I drive a knife straight into his heart.

Silence. And then I’m done.

Luca hands me a towel and I clean my hands.

“Take care of the body. Make sure everything that happened today is kept under the wraps.”

“You got it, boss. A couple of us are going to head down to the bar, to make a toast in Raf’s honor,” he says and I can see the pain he’s trying to mask behind his eyes.

Pain I can feel acutely.

“Make a toast for me too, alright? I’ve got to get back to Cassie.”

The bedroom is quiet when I return except for the sound of her steady breathing. I take off the clothes I’m wearing,stripping down to my boxers before sliding into bed beside her. As soon as I do so, she curls against me. my arms wrap around her like a barrier against the world and I don’t plan on ever letting her go.

I stroke her hair, gentle, slow. My thumb brushes against the back of her neck and she shifts even closer. I stay like that for a long time, holding her, listening. My heart hasn’t ever felt this full before and it’s terrifying. The fear I felt when I thought I might lose her was like nothing else.

I have so much to lose now. But I also have something to fight for. And I’ll do so till the death.

Cassie stirs. Her lashes flutter against my skin. The moment she wakes up, she stiffens, her fingers curling against my chest like she’s unsure if it’s real.

“Hey, it’s me,” I tell her, my voice low. “It’s me. You’re safe, baby.”

She lifts her head slowly. her eyes are red-rimmed, her cheeks still wet. But she looks at me with something new in her expression, something tender and open and unguarded.

“Damien, I need to say something,” she says.

“You can say it later. I’m sure you’re hungry and I already called the doctor. He’ll come to check you in the morning.”

“That’s fine, but I really need to say this.”