Page 103 of The Empress

“Which way do we go?” I ask no one in particular.

“Through that door, boss,” Mattia answers, pointing at a doorway to our left.

The mansion is decorated in bright blue and yellow, with weird statues of balloon animals.

“Cazzo, Vito’s taste sucks ass,” I mutter.

“You can say that again,” Massimo agrees right before we step through French doors and out onto a patio.

Four young women, dressed in bikinis, are holding each other while my men have guns on them.

“Take the women inside. They don’t leave before we do, but make sure they see nothing,” Massimo orders.

My eyes land on Nicolo and Vito, where they’re sitting on lounge chairs with drinks in their hands.

My rage spikes dangerously as I look at the two men who’ve been living the good life the past two weeks.

Dante and Ricco have their guns trained on the two fuckers’ heads.

“I’m offended that I wasn’t invited to the party,” I say, my voice tense as I hand my machine gun to Massimo.

I pull my Glock from behind my back and take a seat on a chair near them. Glancing around at the weirdly shaped bushes, I shake my head before I lift my arm and pull the trigger.

Vito’s head snaps back as the bullet hits him between the eyes, and his drink goes flying onto the paving.

Now it’s me and the man who ruined my fucking life and took the Messinas from me.

The man who kidnapped Carina and hid her from me.

Looking at Nicolo, I mutter, “Button up your shirt.” I gesture with my gun at his belly and gray chest hair. “No one wants to see that.”

He sets his drink down beside him and buttons his shirt before asking, “How did you find me?”

“What’s that saying about a scorned woman?” I try to remember, but then shake my head. “It doesn’t matter.” I stand up again and walk closer to him, then pointing my weapon at his left leg, I shoot him in the knee.

Nicolo lets out a roar while he grabs his leg, pain etched deep into his features, and it soothes my anger a little.

“Imagine my surprise when I found out Haven is Carina,” I growl.

Hatred tightens Nicolo’s features even more. “I should’ve killed her. I fucking knew this would bite me in the ass.”

“Grow a pair of balls and admit why you did it,” I demand.

Nicolo glares up at me. “Why, you’re going to kill me anyway.”

“Yes, but you can either die quick or I can torture you.” I glance at the view of the ocean. “I made a friend in South America who has the most creative ways of making people suffer. I’ve heard he recently cut off a man’s cock. Imagine that.”I shake my head and look at Nicolo again. “It had to have hurt a lot.”

“Your father was a loose cannon!” Nicolo shouts. “Everyone wanted him dead. I just had the guts to do it. It’s a pity you survived, though,” he taunts me. “How did it feel when you realized you forced the girl you were searching for all this time to marry you?”

He's baiting me so I’ll give him a quick death out of anger, and it almost works as rage explodes through me. Before I can think things through, I shoot him in his other knee.

His howl of pain eases my thirst for vengeance a little, and I walk to the other garden chair and take a seat again.

Out of fear that I’ll lose my temper, I hold my gun out to Massimo. “Take it before I end him too quickly.”

My right-hand man comes to take the weapon and remains standing beside me.

Tilting my head, I ask, “Why kill the Messinas?”