Page 59 of The Devil's Heir

Jarek

I had said it. I told Liliana that I loved her.

I hadn't expected her to say it back, but it doesn't mean I didn't feel disappointed when she didn't. I did a despicable thing to her, and she's slowly forgiving me.

I can't expect her to fall in love with me just because the sex is great.

She will in time, as long as she stays and gives me the chance.

I've spent the last few days with Lily, giving her my every moment, but I couldn't put off the inevitable any longer. As I walk into The Reformatory, the workers nod as I pass them, and I return their greeting with my own nod.

I enter the basement , where we keep our cells, and am greeted by Frankie. He immediately unlocks the door to the hall leading to the cells.

"Have they given you any issue?"

Frankie smirks, "Only when Joey comes and visits Zita Rossi."

I narrow my eyes and ask, "Why is that?"

"Have you never heard those two go at it?" Frankie asks astonishingly.

"Un-fucking-believable! He knows better than to fuck the prisoners." I yank the door open and walk over to Zita's cell.

Opening the small window on the door, my eyes bulge when I see the state of the cell. Not only did Joey give her the biggest cell, the one with a bathroom attached, but he's also brought her all the comforts of home.

The pretty woman's head snaps to the door, a smile growing on her face until she sees that it's me, and scowls.

"What do you want? Haven't you done enough?" she spits .

I scoff. "You've got the wrong guy, honey. You're not here because of me. You're here because my capo couldn't leave you behind."

"Lies! He told me that he was only following orders. You are the one my father tried to kill—" Her Italian accent is thick, but I understand her every word.

"But I'm not the one who was injured because of it," I respond, cutting her off. "Would you fuck Joey if you knew that it was his idea to take you?"

"What kind of woman do you take me for? I would never let him touch me if that was the case…"

"Well, I don't know what to tell you. I didn't know you were on my plane until we were well on our way home. Joey took you, not me. However, I am keeping you here until your father shows his face."

"You're such an asshole, Jarek Falcon!" Zita huffs.

"Call me whatever you want, but remember, I can take away all this shit that Joey has given you to make your stay comfortable. Keep it up, and you will find yourself in a filthy, musty cell." I slam the window closed and turn away.

Frankie stands close by, grinning. "Man, Joey is going to catch hell when he comes to visit her. I hope I'm still on duty when he gets here."

I return the smile with a wicked one of my own. "I know. That's what he gets for pulling this shit." I point at Zita's cell. "She isn't a guest; she's a fucking prisoner, and that shit won't fly with me. He put her in this situation; he can deal with her wrath."

Frankie shakes his head, laughing as he fishes out the keys to open the other cells. "Which traitor do you want to talk to first, Boss?"

"I'll leave Richards for last," I tell him, waiting until he unlocks the correct door.

"Well, well, looks like you got yourself into a little pickle," I say cynically. "How were those errands you were running for your mother? Were they before or after you took a very important possession of mine—two of them if I want to be technical?"

Lansky's head comes up slowly, and he glares at me but doesn't say anything. Frankie steps forward, about to give the fucker some incentive to talk, but I stop him.

"Just stand by. I'm going to be the one to get my hands dirty," I tell him, and he nods, steps back, and smiles .

I pull the black leather gloves from my pocket and pull them on as I address the redheaded asshole. "Tell me, Lansky. Was it in the plans to get hired and steal from me?"

"Fuck you!" Spittle accompanies his rebuttal.

I tsk and take the brass knuckles Frankie holds out to me. I'm surprised, actually. I figured this one would turn on his buddy, but I guess I was wrong.

"You know, if you thought you could come into my family and take from me, you were sorely mistaken." I swing my arm and hear the crack of his jaw as the brass knuckles make contact with it.

A tooth flies from his mouth, followed by a spray of blood. I swing again; this time, it's his nose that takes the hit.

"Motherfucker!" Lansky roars with anger, but I'm nowhere near finished with him. "Let me loose and fight me like a real man!"

"Oh, did you leave Liliana loose, or did you have her tied up the whole time?" I sneer.

The fucker smirks. "The bitch disappointed me because she didn't fight us. She struggled a little but never—"

I don't let him finish his sentence as I punch him again and again. By the time I stop, his face is a bloody mess, and he has fewer teeth. He's not the one I want to torture; I'm saving that for Richards.

I pull my gun from its holster and cock it as I hold it under his chin. The motherfucker sobers up real fast as he starts spewing out words.

"We didn't know she was with you when we were hired. Heath started fucking with the old bitch, and then he found out that Liliana was with you. She owed him big time…"

"She didn't owe him shit! She was never his; she's always been mine!" I growl. "So, what made you help him?"

"Your aunt. She said that we would each make a cool million if we nab her and turn her over," Lansky sings like a bird now.

"You do realize that she lied to you. She knew I would kill you—she never planned on paying out that money."

"I'm sorry, I really am! Please…let me make it up to you!"

I inch in real close to the fucker. Close enough that I can see the tiny blackheads sprinkled over his nose, and I grin sinisterly as I say, "Too late." I pull the trigger, letting his blood splatter across my face .

"You're sorry, my ass," I mumble as I walk from the cell and go to the next.

Frankie unlocks the cell holding Richards and opens it. I want him to see Lansky's blood all over me. Maybe then he won't try lying to me. Not that it matters because he's a dead man walking.

"Jarek!"

I hear my name, and I freeze.

What the fuck is she doing here, and how in the hell did she get here?

She's going to see me with blood all over me if I step back out of the room, but maybe she should. Perhaps then she will learn her lesson and leave me to tend to my business.

Sighing, I step out and face her. "Liliana. Care to tell me how…" My voice trails off when I notice Jackson behind her. "You better have a damn good reason as to why you allowed my pregnant woman to come down here." I scowl at him.

I hear a gasp just before Lily runs to me. "Are you okay? Where are you bleeding?"

I grab her upper arms firmly and keep her at arm's length. I don't want her getting this filth all over her.

"It isn't my blood—it's Lansky's."

As soon as I say the words, Lily's demeanor changes, and she becomes upset. "Oh, well, don't you dare yell at Jackson. I left him no choice but to bring me."

"Oh really? Did you hold a gun to his head?" I smirk.

"Actually…" Lily trails off as she pulls a pistol from the back of her pants.

"For fuck's sake, Liliana!" I curse and run my hand through my hair as I stare at my own pistol that I keep stashed inside the nightstand.

"Well, what else am I supposed to do when you leave me after informing me of your plans? You never would have brought me with you."

"Damn straight. This is no place for you, pauper!"

"I have every right to be here, Jarek."

I can see the hurt in her eyes, and no matter how hard I want to be stern with her because of the danger she's put herself in, I can't help but melt just a little bit. Lily is making me soft, and it's not good at times like this.

"You shouldn't be here, Lily," I repeat a little softer this time .

"Is he restrained?"

"Yes, but that doesn't matter. Anything can happen…"

"I'll stay back—and Jackson can remain by my side the whole time," she states.

I hesitate and then look at Jackson.

He nods. "I don't mind, Sir, but if I may—I prefer you take the gun from her. Lily holding a gun and being hormonal is not safe."

I can't help the twitch of my lips at Jackson's statement. Of course, he's correct in saying it isn't safe. Even without a gun, it's dangerous to be in Lily's path when she's on a rampage.

I hold out my hand for her to hand it over, but she hugs it to her chest, and I swear I feel my heart stop.

"Jesus, Liliana! Do not hug the fucking gun. It can go off at any moment."

"Do you think I'm dumb? I know how to put the safety on."

"I don't care. Either give me the gun, or you can turn around and go home, and I will deal with you later."

Sighing, Lily hands me the gun, and I hold my arm out for her to enter the room first. When Jackson follows, I glare at him.

"You can yell at me all you want, Sir, but just know I'm being punished every minute I remain by her side."

"How so?" I ask sarcastically.

"Because, the moment she swung that gun on me, I may have pissed myself a little. I've been walking around with wet underwear ever since." He disappears into the room as laughter explodes from my lips.

Never a dull moment, I tell you.

I walk into the room and see Lily standing just inside the door, her eyes never leaving the man chained to the chair in the center of the cell. Richards returns her stare, only his is mocking, and it pisses me off. Instantly, I move to his side and punch him in the face.

He never saw me coming, and when his head snaps back, blood sprays from his nose. He's lucky I didn't break his neck immediately. I stand before him and lean down so he looks me in the eye.

"Whose blood do you think this is?" I point to my face.

Richards doesn't answer. He spits blood out on the floor and goes back to staring at my girl. I move and place myself in his line of sight .

"Don't look at her. You look at me. If you take one peek at her, you will lose a fucking eye," I threaten.

"She… owed… me." Heath's voice is low and raspy.

"She didn't owe you shit. But even if she did, you should have come to me. What did you think would happen? That I'd just stand by while you stole what's mine? You didn't just take my woman—you took my child."

"Well, that was unfortunate… now, wasn't it?"

Heath's flippant reply only fuels the fire. His smug detachment, the way he finds all of this amusing—it's not helping his case one bit.

I turn to Frankie and nod. He leaves the room but returns almost immediately, pushing a cart. I grin when I see the item I hoped would be present. Picking up the long blade, I touch it to the tip of my finger, causing a small bead of blood to appear.

Smiling, I look at Heath and ask, "Shall we begin?"