Page 33

“ T hank you for letting me use your torture area.” I smile at Roman, happy to have a fucking outlet for my chaotic mind. Roman must understand because he squeezes my hand.

“Of course, Amico Mio,” he replies. The smile gracing his face is at odds with his red rimmed eyes.

Fucking hell, I can’t believe they tried to take Carter from him. I don’t want to admit it, but it worries me that they’ve sunk so low. Does it mean Master and Cristian aren’t alive? Are our assumptions wrong?

Walking in to the torture room, I let out a whistle. “Damn, this is next level. We have small rooms scattered here and there, but nothing this extensive. And we had to give up my favorite because there was a chance the cops would execute a warrant there—which they fucking did.”

“And that’s why I brought Sergeant Mac with me.” Antonio glares at our captives.

Ignacio is hanging around in the background, remaining silent as he looks us over when we arrive. He gives a nod, and he’s probably as grateful as I am that Benjamin isn’t here. Perhaps for different reasons, since if it were up to me, Benjamin would take a turn being punished. I at least wouldn’t kill him—probably. Unlike these two, who have more than forfeited their lives.

Seeing the two cops tied up in front of me makes me smile. Although I do greatly appreciate the complexity of the Amatos’ setup, I have no desire to delve into it that much. Maybe Roman will let me play later… I grab my knife, loving the fear I see in their eyes.

“Now, let’s start with you, Sergeant Mac. You made some…interesting comments. I have to admit, they fucking pissed me off. Now, I am the forgiving sort.” Both Ignacio and Antonio make choking noises, but I flick them away. “However, you have information, and I need it. I want to know who set this up—and why.”

Sergeant Mac spits at me, and I roll my eyes. Such a childish display. “Nothing I tell you will help. We are too well organized. The only important part that you need to know is that you’ll all go down. I’ve waited my entire career to get rid of the corruption in this town.”

“Ah, I see. So, you’re going with delusional. FYI—pleading insanity doesn’t work here.” I shift my perspective to the man who shot Antonio’s lover—and was aiming for Antonio. “And you. What was your goal here? After all, shooting directly at one of us…well, that’s fucking stupid.”

He manages to pale even further, his body is shaking so much, he’s about to come out of his skin. “We were told we were going into a hostile environment, and to be ready to react with all means necessary. I thought he was going for a weapon, and the other man stepped in front of him. If I could take the bullet back, I would.”

“Jesus, Daniels. You’re a fucking disgrace to the badge. You don’t apologize to criminals, especially when you were just doing your job.”

Humming, I can’t decide which one is more of an idiot. I’m inclined to think Sergeant Mac, after all, he knew what was going on. Daniels was led like a lamb to the slaughter.

Shrugging, I cut off Sergeant Mac’s shirt, not caring that I nick him in several places. I smile as he hisses at the sharpness of my blade.

I’m ready to start playing, when Roman comes up beside me and turns his phone toward me. I scowl at the fact it’s motherfucking Hollis who sent the message. I can’t deny that the information isn’t useful, even coming from a fucking Amato.

“Well, this makes things interesting.” I tilt my head as I stare at the sergeant. “You have an ex-wife… It's not surprising she’s an ex, but what does surprise me is that you have a little boy. I’m shocked she stayed with you for that long, but you can’t account for taste.”

“You keep your mouth shut,” he growls as he fights against the ropes tying him down. It doesn’t do shit, other than bite into his hands, but it’s a direct hit.

“Roman, do you think I should ignore such valuable information? Don’t we make sure that when people fuck with us, we take care of the problem permanently, and with severe prejudice? After all, we can’t have our enemies thinking we’re too soft.”

“We definitely shouldn’t ignore it. And since he has no information to give us, it’s not like there’s anything he can barter with.” If Roman is trying to come off as having a serious voice, he misses it with a bit too much glee. Then again, I agree.

“You fuckers! This is why you need to be exterminated! Wiped from this city, burned to fucking ashes!”

“You really underestimate us. We’re the fucking Martellis and Amatos.” I may not like the Amatos much right now, but damn if I don’t respect their Family.

Scowling, he slumps, but finally nods. “Fuck it. I’m going to die anyway. Just leave my kid alone. And probably the ex too. Although, really I don’t care about her.”

I exchange a disbelieving glance with Roman. “You…would want your child to be an orphan? You know what, I don’t even want to know. Just answer the fucking question.”

“When plans started being made…about nine months ago? Yeah, I think it was nine months, when people started getting information, instructions, plans, but I was skeptical. I don’t like following orders blindly, even if it’s to rid us of you. So, I made some inquiries. Nothing that made too many waves, or at least, so I thought. Until I was coming out of my house and got fucking kidnapped with a bag over my head.”

He manages to sneer, and I can’t wait to wipe it off his goddamn face.

“I never saw who it was. She didn’t give me her name. Just made it very clear that it was far beyond my level. Not local, hell, not even state. I’m assuming federal, but she was cagey as fuck.

“Either way, she said they had a plan, and I could get with it if I wanted you taken out, or I could look the other way. Those were the only two options. Once I knew there was someone actually pulling the strings who knew what they were doing, I was happy to help.”

“Right, because a bag over the head, and an unknown voice, absolutely screams trustworthiness. Whatever. Do you know how to contact this person? Or were you too stupid to get any information, other than ‘we’re going after the two most powerful crime families because we’re idiots’?” When he remains deadly silent, I roll my eyes at Roman and shrug, feeling disappointed. “He didn’t even let me have fun.”

“You can still torture him, Amico Mio.” Roman pats my arm sympathetically. I wrinkle my nose at it and shake my head. It’s too…boring. “Would you like me to do it?”

I consider it for a moment, mainly because Roman deserves to have some fun after what he’s been through. However, the exhaustion pulling at his features puts my selfish desires to rest. He really needs some sleep…

With a deep sigh, I walk forward and slit the man’s throat. There’s no need for any long statement, just the urgency to finish this shit. I want Master back, Roman needs his father back, and we need to figure out what's going on with our families.

Stepping back, I turn to Daniels. He doesn’t meet my eyes, even as resignation radiates from him. It’s palpable, but I don’t give a shit. I throw my knife, lodging it into his shoulder. His loud scream does perk me up a bit. Daniels lets out a high-pitched keen when I roughly yank the blade out.

“That’s for Nicolo.” I turn toward Antonio. “Your call on if we torture him or not. We could chop him into pieces? Burn him? Rip his nails off? What do you want?”

Antonio wrinkles his nose, and I forgot he’s not a fan of torture—too messy. He doesn’t give a shit about it. There’s a reason he’s the best dressed of all of us. “Eh, burning would make me hate bacon again. So let’s not do that. Chopping…it’s just so overdone. What are we? In a horror movie?”

I throw my head back and laugh at his complete tone of disgust. When I can finally speak, I manage to ask, “Then what would you prefer?”

“Is there something less…bloody?”

I pinch the bridge of my nose as Roman chokes on a laugh. It’s not that Antonio won’t get his hands dirty, because I’ve seen him pull the trigger and take people out with no problems. Still, he’s not exactly giving Roman the best impression here. “Why don’t I rip some of his nails off? Then you can kill him, and we can get the fuck out of here. We all need a break.”

“That is a good option. Although, it’s not like he actually cared about his nails. Has he not heard about manicures? I don’t even want to think about what his feet must be like.”

Daniels still hasn’t stopped screaming, and it’s giving me a headache. I gesture to Roman. “Mind getting some pliers? You’re welcome to join in as well. The sooner this is done, the sooner we can go.”

“Of course.”

It doesn’t take long for Roman to come back with toys for us both. Neither one of us talk while we're pulling his nails off. It’s a fun yet gruesome process. I personally find it relaxing. Each pop is deeply satisfying.

About halfway through, Daniels slumps down and I glance up at him. “He passed out!” shouts Roman.

The outrage in my friend’s voice matches the internal fire inside me. Fuck . This day is not going how I wanted. Staring up at the ceiling, I wonder what deity I pissed off if I can’t even have some fun, some bonding time with my friend. With disgust, I turn toward Antonio and gesture him forward, offering him the knife.

I walk behind Daniels and yank his head back. I know Antonio wants a clean cut, preferably one that won’t cause blood to get all over his suit. It’s over in less than a second, although Antonio lets out a sigh. Turns out, he still managed to get some blood on himself.

“You need to practice more,” I say shortly, shrugging.

Antonio glares at me, but doesn’t say a word. He just walks over to the sink to wash off. He tries to be kind and washes my knife. I bite my lip from saying anything. It’s not his fault that I’m really fucking particular about how it should be cleaned.

I turn to Roman, planning to let him know we are clear to go, only to stumble back into Antonio, who catches me. What. The. Fuck? Ignacio and Roman are locked in a heated stare that’s enough to set those corpses on fire.

“Uh, Boss?” Antonio questions.

“I fucking forgot Ignacio gets off on watching people get tortured.” Of course, I didn’t think Roman, of all people, would be…interested.

Ignacio smirks at him, stalking forward, and I clear my throat, halting him. “Is this wise?”

Roman makes a gesture I can only interpret as “get the fuck out, I want to be sexed up”. I turn to face Antonio, planning on demanding his thoughts, but he chuckles. “You know how it is after torture. You and Il Padrone played plenty of times.”

“Fuck it,” I grumble. “We’ll see you later. Don’t do anything—You know what, I’m not even going there. Have fun.”

I go to storm out, but Antonio catches my arm, forcing me to walk steady. Lowering his voice, he whispers, “I know you’re not happy about this, but you must recognize that Roman is a Boss as well.”

I’m not happy to admit that he’s right, so I don’t say anything. Instead, I let him walk us out, putting whatever shitshow is going to happen behind us. At least when we finally get out into the cool air, I can take a deep breath and let it out.

“Are you going back to see Nicolo and Nario?”

“Of course, unless you need something else?” Antonio looks at me warily. It's understandable, as I already dragged him away from his lovers once.

“No, you’re good. I’ll let you know if there are any developments.”

“I do have this for you.” He hands me some rolled up paperwork, and I gesture for him to explain, but he shrugs. “I don’t know what it is. I didn’t have time to read it. It was in the fed’s house—hidden. Since Roman is busy, maybe go over it with Ten or Hollis? They’d both be good options.”

“So would Marcus.” I frown as I start shuffling through the pages.

Antonio coughs, and I turn my attention back to him. “We’re allies. That means we don’t keep shit from each other. It means we rely on each other. I don’t know what happened, and I really, truly do not care. If you want to continue being respected, you need to put petty shit aside.”

Growling, I narrow my eyes at him. Unlike most who would back away, he doesn’t. I’m impressed, but with his background, it's hardly a surprise. “I’ll think about it. Now, let’s get the fuck out of here. Who knows how long Ignacio will keep Roman.”

“That’s just fucking weird,” Antonio mutters, and I snort.

That feels like a fucking understatement. Of all people—Chaos. I hope my friend knows what he’s doing, because when Chaos is on point, there’s no stopping him.