Page 68 of Deceptive Desires (The Syndicate #2)

Roman

I look at the man tied to the metal chair in my warehouse. The man who robbed my sunshine. At gunpoint.

It was a stupid mistake. One he’ll pay for with his life. No one touches what’s mine. No one hurts or scares my woman.

And no one takes what ties us together. The ring I picked out just for her. That shows the world she’s mine.

Especially not a lowly Bratva member who shouldn’t have been in our territory anyways.

It was easy to track him. Bash was more than happy to help when he heard what this scum had done to Cecilia.

He found his image on street cameras and saw that he’s been arrested before for a slew of things. Petty theft, breaking and entering, physical altercations… The list goes on. He’s not a good man. And I bet he does worse things for his Bratva.

And now it’s time he pays.

I slap him across the face to wake him up. It’s demeaning and will offend a man with his ego.

When he opens his eyes, they harden.

“Roman Montclair. Why am I here?” he growls.

I’m pleasantly surprised that he knows me. My face isn’t as well known as my name. Only higher ups in the crime families and people I’ve dealt with before know it.

I guess we’ve crossed paths.

It’s not unusual for me to catch someone more than once. I’ll have to check out his scar to see how grave his offense was and how long ago.

“I want to have a chat,” I tell him, then slap his face again.

He looks furious but can’t do anything about it with his wrists and ankles bound.

“I will not share Bratva secrets,” he says stoically.

“Obviously not. You’re too low to know any,” I tell him with a third slap.

He growls through gritted teeth but continues.

“Then why am I here?” he demands.

“You robbed my fiancée today. I want her things back,” I explain.

He pales. He knows that our women are off limits. It’s a death sentence to go near one.

“I did not know she was yours. It’s all at my apartment. Where you grabbed me. I haven’t gone to the pawn shop with them yet,” he pleads with me to understand.

“Whether you knew or not is irrelevant. You robbed my woman in my territory. You made her cry. You took the ring that I gave her. That ties her to me forever. For that, you will pay,” I tell him.

He nods in resolution. He knows the fate that awaits him.

I grab a knife, cut off his shirt, and see a faint scar, RFM, on his side. It wasn’t deep enough to scar terribly, meaning his offense wasn’t bad. But this time, his offense is unforgiveable.

I grab the knife, and he pales, knowing the ritual.

Instead of going over the scarred skin, I carve my initials into his chest taking up the whole space. The world needs to know what happens to those who mess with my woman. The Bratva is smart enough to figure out what he did. And they’ll never touch my woman again.

Then I put a bullet between his eyes. I don’t have the patience to drag this out tonight. I want to get back to bed with my sunshine.

I just need to retrieve what’s hers first.