Page 45

PSYCHO

Jerking my jaw down, I stare at him with pure hatred I feel to my core, as blood boils in my veins.

“This is where you talk. You’ll tell me how, and why.”

His wide eyes stare at the knife in my hand, waiting for me to strike him, but I won’t. Not yet. The anticipation is the best part, and I want his words first.

“I’m going to vomit.”

I chuckle softly as I warn him, “I wouldn’t do that. You will lick it up.”

Kage laughs somewhere behind me, knowing full well I mean it.

“He’s not kidding, man. I would swallow that shit down.”

Touching the tip of my knife over his heart, I repeat my order, which I fucking hate.

“How and why. If you don’t answer me, I’ll cut your heart out and feed it to you.”

This man is barely a man, pathetic and weak. Beating a defenseless woman proves that.

Tears run down his face, and he tells me what I want to know.

“She stabbed Carlo multiple times, and called the police. Hadley is the reason he’s in prison.”

I turn momentarily to look at my girl, and wink at her, showing her how much I fucking approve of what she did. Her cheeks flush pink, as she fidgets in her seat. Fuck, I can’t wait for this to be done, so I can hold her, and never let her out of my sight. She’s mad at me, rightfully so, and might fight me, but I don’t care. I’ll let her fight, scream, whatever she needs, but she will be in my arms.

“Where do you come in?”

“I’ll tell you anything, just get the knife away from me.”

I pull the knife away from his flesh. It’s only a brief reprieve. Once he tells me what I need to know, he’s going to suffer.

His bottom lip trembles as he begins talking again. Pathetic.

“I got into business with Carlo. He was the only one left in his family. All my brothers are dead, so I was alone too. It made sense to build something together. I supply him with drugs he sells in prison, and when he needs it, I get him weapons. Early on, in our arrangement, he told me about Hadley. And our agreement was, I’d get a higher cut for ten years if I killed her, but he didn’t just want her dead. He wanted it to be brutal. He wanted her to suffer.”

Turning to my brother, Bones, I speak, and my voice comes out thick with the emotion swelling in my chest.

“I want someone to get that fucker out, so I can kill him. Otherwise, I’ll go for a visit and do it right there, in front of anybody. You’re right, I’m unhinged. For her. And that piece of garbage will not continue breathing after what he has done to her.”

I swallow hard as he nods. It all makes me see red. My next question, I feel like I have the answer to, but I ask for her.

“Do you know anything about her father’s death?”

“The Bianchis,” he says in a flat tone.

“Why?”

The De Lucas have had a beef with them, but we never did. Not to my knowledge anyway, unless it goes back to my father’s days, and was yet another thing he decided not to tell us.

“You’ll have to ask him that, I don’t know. Please, don’t,” he says, eyeing the knife warily.

Leaning my head over him, I stare into his teary brown eyes.

“One more question, and I promise if you lie to me, I’ll make you regret it.”

I speak low, so only he hears me, because I’m not looking to humiliate Hadley.

“Did you stick your dick in my girl?”

His eyes dart back and forth, and the anxiety he exhibits is enough to answer the question for me, but I wait for the word.

“Yes,” he says, low, and white hot burning fury travels through me, but I hold it together, for her. Stepping back from him, I rub my chest, feeling like my world just imploded.

“Can everybody leave for a minute, please. Except Reaper. I need a second with my girl.”

Silently, everybody steps out, other than my youngest brother.

“Do your thing, but do not let him die. Strangle him repeatedly, but he lives.”

Reaper rolls his sleeves up, with a glint to his eye, and says, “Gladly, brother.”

Walking over to Hadley, I kneel in front of her, and speak words I’ve never said to anybody.

“I’m sorry, baby. I’m so fucking sorry. Everything he did is my fault.”

Her eyes well up with tears, as she reaches down and gently strokes my cheek. A tenderness I don’t fucking deserve. It changes nothing. I have had few regrets in life. I live on my own terms, and apologize for nothing, but this, it fucking guts me, because I did this. I put her in his path.

“This isn’t your fault, Massimo. The other things you did are, but not this. Are you sorry for those things too?”

I know she wants me to say yes, but I can’t.

“No, baby, I’m not sorry for anything else. This piece of shit, putting him in your path and allowing him to hurt you, fuck, baby, for that I’m sorry. My guilt is my penance. I’ll live with that for the rest of my days, while it consumes me. I know it’s not enough, but it’s all I have.”

She darts her eyes away, as Jimmy’s coughing, and sputtering for breath, interrupts us. I take her hand and kiss her palm, before I get back up and relieve my brother of his duties.

“Did you have fun?” I ask, as I glower at him. He shakes his head profusely.

“I agree, Jimmy. Strangling people is not fun, but cutting them is.”

I push my knife into his flesh, and pull it down, as he screams.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”

Chuckling darkly, I say, “You took what’s mine. You touched what’s mine. I’m not even pissed about the fire. If I had any use for touching your dick, I’d do what my sister-in-law did once. A man hurt her, I’ll spare you the details, but she cut his junk off.”

A smile crosses my face at the memory.

“And then she choked him with it. Imagine dying, by choking to death on your own fucking dick.”

“I’ll do it,” Hadley says, causing me to grin with pride. That’s my girl.

I cock my head at Jimmy, who now screams louder than anyone I’ve ever heard.

“I know. She’s fucking amazing, isn’t she?”

Bones walks back in and arches an eyebrow at me, having heard my conversation with Jimmy.

“I told you, your wife is a goddamn inspiration.”

Turning my gaze to Hadley, I tell her, “This will be the one, and only, time, I let you touch any dick, but mine.”

A slow smile forms on her battered face, and it starts the rage all over again. I’m an asshole, but I would’ve never done this shit to her. Again, she surprises me.

“He made me watch him eat, while I starved. He likes his steak well done. Maybe he’d prefer his dick that way too.”

My brothers share a shocked glance, before Bones chuckles loudly.

“Psycho’s girl is a, well, psycho . How fitting.”

Walking away from Jimmy, I look down at Hadley, and tilt her head back with my free hand.

“If that’s what you want, you’ll need to give me a few minutes first. I’ll make sure he’s still alive for you to do it.”

She motions for me to come closer, so I do. Leaning my head down, she whispers in my ear,

“He made me cry, Massimo. Make him cry louder.”

I swallow hard as her words hit me. She knows. I don’t know how, but Hadley knows her tears are only for me. It’s one of many things he took from her that he had no right to.

It’s hard to turn away from her, when all I want to do is take her in, but I do what needs to be done. Call me a sick bastard, because I’ve always enjoyed torturing my enemies, but this isn’t for me. It’s for her.