Page 64

Vinny

H e’s on a piss-stained mattress, covered in dried blood from the cuts that litter his body.

His fingertips and toes are missing, his teeth too.

He’s probably wishing for death, and while I’ve spent the past eight months watching my wife grow my baby, I’ll keep him alive another ten months.

The exact amount of time he kept Gracie and Bonnie from me.

Slowly, we will torture him to death, taking him piece by piece.

“Please, just kill me.” His words are barely audible.

“You need to pay for your sins,” I drawl out, settling beside Massio.

When we realized Robert planned on using my daughter as leverage, he just made things for himself so much worse. Before, I was simply going to torture him to death, now, I intended to brutalize him, return him to the brink of good health and repeat the process over and fucking over again.

The past six months, Massio has been at the ranch as head of security, but I can feel the dissatisfaction from him a mile away. He likes action, after all, it’s not like he’s in retirement too.

I nudge him with my shoulder. “I have a job for you.”

He huffs and rolls his neck toward me. “The horse bolt again?” he snarks.

“No, actually. It’s this.” I lift the folded photo from my pocket and hand it over to him. “Rafael suggested it. When I told him you were getting angsty.”

“Fucking angsty? Bored, you mean,” he clips, making my eyebrows furrow. It seems it’s only me and my girls who appreciate the seclusion of the ranch.

“Open it.” I gesture.

He unfolds the photo, then jolts when he sees who it is.

A young woman, the mirror image of her mother—his ex-wife, the one who broke his heart and soul.

“She needs a bodyguard,” I quip with a smirk.

“The job is yours if you want it.” He stares at the photo, and anger flashes over his face.

“Be warned, apparently, she’s a brat that needs taming.

Maybe she needs a daddy.” I wink, and fire flares in his eyes.

I stand and button up my jacket, and a wail sounds from Robert as Rocco slices off a portion of skin, and when I step through the door, it’s with certainty.

Massio will be leaving us. He’s about to cage his own little pet. I just hope the little brat is ready to be tamed. Something tells me Massio will be doing it anyway.