by Penelope Sky
Siena looked into my eyes, the sadness creeping into her expression.
“Stay here with Martina. I’ll be home in less than two hours.”
“Alright.” She looked like she wanted to argue with me but decided against it. “Be careful.”
“I don’t need to be careful. Micah already surrendered, and my men picked him up.”
“Where are you doing this?”
“Right outside my building.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Like, on the sidewalk where the public can see?”
“Yes. And no one will do a damn thing to stop it—because I can’t be stopped.” I pulled her into my chest and gave her a gentle hug, an embrace that wouldn’t aggravate my sore ribs. “I’ll see you soon.” I pulled away and headed to the door.
“Could you call me when you’re on your way back?”
I turned back to her, seeing the genuine concern written all over her face. One night, I was supposed to come home, but I never did. My car didn’t make it. I’d been abducted against my will and tortured. “I promise.”
“I love you.” Her green eyes looked into mine, beaming and bright. Like two stars, they shone brighter than the heavens. Her eyes full of unconditional love and devotion, the loyalty was written all over her face.
Every time she said those words to me now, I said them back. “I love you too, baby.”
“How are we doing this?” Bates asked from beside me in the car. “Who gets to do the stabbing?”
“Me. All me.” I wasn’t sharing the execution with anyone else. I was rumored to be a tyrant in this country. I had a reputation to live up to. “It’s for Siena’s father. Maybe he was a bad man, but he didn’t deserve to die that way.”
“Shit, no one deserves to die that way.” He looked out the window, wearing a black suit with a matching tie. “At least this will be over for good. We’ll get their cigar business and wipe their accounts. Easiest money I’ve ever made.”
I didn’t care about the money. I just cared about the revenge.
The car pulled up to the curb, and we stepped out.
I had the blade in my pocket, the one I was going to stab my enemy with.
“You’re sure you want to wear that?” Bates asked. “I think it’s about to get ruined.”
“Or it’s about to look better.”
We moved up the stairs to the front of the building. The metal pole had been set up by my men, and the noose dangled from the apparatus. I pulled the blade out of my pocket and held it at my side.
Bates noticed it. “I’m glad we made up…”
“Yeah, me too. I would hate to waste this knife on you.” It was three in the morning, and the streets were quiet. Only a few people passed on the sidewalk, and once they realized something serious was about to happen, they dispersed.
Probably didn’t want to be the next victim.
Micah stood off to the side with his wrists bound behind his back. Like a corpse, he was already dead in the eyes, knowing exactly what would happen to him once he was suspended from that rope. He would try not to yell out in pain, but when that knife was deep in his stomach, he wouldn’t be able to resist the urge. Like all men before him, he would break. And he would die a horrible death.
I walked up to him with my blade held at my side. “Last words?”
He stared at me with the same look of indifference, like I wasn’t worth his time. “Mercy.”
“You know I have to do this, Micah.”
“But you know where the artery is.” He referred to the large one right down his center, the big one that could kill him if it were severed in half. It would only take a few seconds.
“Did you show Stefan Russo mercy?” There was no way to know if his answer was truthful or not, but after being tortured by Damien, I suspected mercy had never been granted. Even after I gave them a truth, Damien still beat me into the ground.
“Damien was the one in charge of that.”
That gave me my answer. “So, no.” I turned to my men. “Get him up in the noose.”
“Let’s work out a deal,” Micah said. “I’m sure there’s something—”
“You tortured and killed my woman’s father. Asshole, there’s nothing you can say to stop this from happening. Shut up and have some dignity.”
My men put the rope around his neck then tightened it. Then they pulled on the level and raised him from the ground, slowly choking him as the rope constricted against his throat.
I gripped the blade in my hand and stared at my enemy, who was a foot higher than me so his stomach was eye level. “I won’t pretend I’m not going to enjoy this.”
18
Siena
I couldn’t sleep, not until Cato was home. He’d been taken from me once before, and until he walked through that door with those amazing blue eyes, I wouldn’t be able to relax. I had the baby monitor on my nightstand and the phone on my chest so I could be attentive to both.
The phone rang.
I answered it right away. “Cato?”
“It’s me, baby.”
“Are you alright?”
“I’m in the same condition as when I left.”
I closed my eyes as the relief swept over me. “When will you be home?”
“About ten minutes. Bates is with me.”
“So…is it over?” I didn’t ask for the details because Cato said I wouldn’t want to know. Maybe he was right. I’d seen enough violence in the last year, and I couldn’t handle any more.
“It’s over.”
“He’s dead.”
“Yes. My men are taking over his facility as we speak.”
I didn’t care about that. I just wanted to know that no one was going to hurt us anymore.
“Bates is going to stay with us tonight, but he’ll move out in the afternoon.”
“He can stay as long as he wants. We’ve got plenty of room.”
“No, he’s not welcome with us. He does a lot of kinky shit you don’t know about. Trust me, you don’t want that depravity in your house.”
“Fair enough.”
“I’ll see you soon. Love you.” He said those words to me almost on a daily basis now, and it seemed like he always meant it. It rolled off the tongue so well, like he’d been saying it since the day we met.
“Love you too.”
“I’m going to make love to you when I get home.” He said the words without shame, not caring if his brother heard every word.
I was so hard up, I didn’t care about the breach of privacy. “You better.”
When Cato came home, he was in a different outfit. He wore jeans and a t-shirt, and the suit he left in was nowhere in sight. He walked into the bedroom a different man than when he left. He was relaxed, relieved, and happy. The corner of his mouth rose in a smile as he looked at me, like he’d been waiting for this moment for a long time.
His shirt came off over his head, and his jeans were next. He stripped down until he was nothing but skin, a hard cock between his legs. He moved into me and slowly pulled his t-shirt over my head, his face close to mine without kissing me. My panties were his next target. He dropped to his knees in front of me and slowly peeled them away while he kissed my inner thighs.
I closed my eyes and dug my fingers into his hair.
He moved his mouth farther up until he kissed my nub, his lips sucking my clit into his mouth. He kissed me with the same passion he would give my mouth, his eyes closed and his hands shaking.
I didn’t care that he’d just killed someone. That was the furthest thing from my mind.
He rose to his feet and kissed me on the mouth. “Am I wearing a condom tonight?”
My eyes flashed open. “Why would you wear a condom?”
“You aren’t on birth control.” His hand slid into my hair, and he breathed close to my mouth. “Unless that means you want to start on baby number two.”
I hadn’t given it any thought since he’d walked out the door. All I’d cared about was him coming back. “I don’t
know if that’s what I want…but there’s no way you’re wearing anything.” I wanted Cato inside me, skin to skin, and I wanted his come inside me for the rest of the night. If that meant we would have another baby, so be it.
He lifted me into his arms and carried me to the bed. “Good answer.”
All of Bates’s things were packed into the car, and he was ready to leave. “So, I guess this is goodbye.” Bates walked up to his brother and clapped him on the shoulder. “We’ve lived through some pretty crazy shit, huh?”
“Hopefully, this is as crazy as it’s going to get,” Cato said.
Bates shrugged. “It would be boring if it was. So, are you going to miss me?”
“Not at all.” Cato clapped him back. “Giovanni won’t miss cleaning up after you and doing your laundry either.”
“I don’t believe him,” Bates said. “It gives him purpose. Well, I’ll miss you. It was nice spending that time with you.” He didn’t look at his brother as he said those tender words.
Cato’s eyes softened. “Alright…I’ll miss you a little.”
Bates grinned. “You’ll miss me a lot. I know you will.” He came to me next. “I’ve got your back for the rest of time, Siena. Regardless of what happens between you and my brother…I’ll always be there for you.” His eyes looked down at Martina in my arms, and he smiled.
“I know you do, Bates. I’ll miss you.”
His eyes flicked up to mine. “You will?”
“Of course. Water under the bridge, Bates.”
He gave me a slight smile before he turned away.
“Wait, aren’t you going to say goodbye to your niece?” I placed her in his arms and stepped back so he could hold her.
Bates flinched on the spot, overwhelmed by the gesture. He looked down into Martina’s face and wore a subdued look of joy. “Hey, sweetheart. I know we don’t spend a lot of one-on-one time together, but I’m your uncle. We have the same eyes.”
Cato looked at me, a hint of a smile on his lips.
Bates kissed her on the forehead before he handed her back. “She’s beautiful—just like you.” He got into his car and drove away.
Cato came to my side and wrapped his arm around my waist. “That was gracious of you.”
“He’s family…you forgive family.”
He brushed his lips against my hairline. “You’re a great role model for Martina. She has the best person to look up to.”
I looked into my daughter’s face and thought of my mother, the woman who had always been my role model. “Thanks…that means a lot to me.”
I fed Martina as Cato got ready in the morning.
He put on all the pieces of his suit then tied the laces of his shoes.
“Where are you going?” I sat in the armchair while Martina breastfed. My nipples were so raw I could barely feel her sucking lips anymore.
“Work. Where I go every morning.”
“Oh…” After everything that had happened, I guess I expected Cato to stop working. All of the horrible things that had happened to us were because of his business. Damien and Micah wanted to overthrow him. That was why we’d experienced this nightmare in the first place.
“Why?” He rose to his full height then smoothed out his navy blue suit.
“Why what?”
“Why would you think I wouldn’t go to work? The doctor said I’m fine.”
That wasn’t why. “I just… I guess I thought you would take more time off.”
“All I’ve done is take time off for the last six weeks. Now that I’ve recovered, I’ve got a lot of stuff to do. I’ve got to manage the new cigar business, and I’ve been inundated new clients since I executed Micah.”
So, it never stopped. It would never stop. This would be our lives until one of us was killed.
He caught the look in my eyes. “Baby, what’s wrong?”
Once the dust had settled, I’d had this daydream that he was going to walk away from the business and we would have the quiet life I always wanted. After almost losing his life and nearly losing me, I’d thought his attitude would change. But it was exactly the same. “Nothing.”
19
Cato
Bates fell into the chair facing my desk. He pulled out a cigar as he started to ramble on. “Since the Skull Kings didn’t participate, I was able to restore our original agreement—”
“Don’t smoke around me.” I pointed at his cigar then the ashtray. “Siena doesn’t want me to smoke, and I don’t want that shit to get in my hair and clothes.”
“She’s that anal?”
“No. I just don’t want to bring it around Martina.”
Bates would normally call me a pussy or just do it anyway, but now, he listened to me. He slipped the cigar back into his pocket. “Alright.”
“Thank you.”
“That means I’m going to have to smoke less…which means I’m going to be healthier…which means I’m going to live longer. And that’s entirely your fault.” He eyed my liquor cabinet before he grabbed the decanter and a glass. He sat down again and helped himself. “Or maybe my liver will go bad, and I’ll die anyway.”
“My fingers are crossed.”
“As I was saying…the Skull Kings will repay their full debt.”
“I’m surprised they agreed to that.”
“Well, they didn’t have much of a choice. They agreed to provide us a service, and that service was never provided. Henceforth…no deal.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Henceforth? Where did you learn that word?”
“Shut the hell up. I read and shit.”
“What do you read?” I challenged. “Other than your bank statements.”
“I read books, asshole. I read every night before I go to sleep.”
“Unless you’ve paid for a hooker,” I countered.
“Which is rare. I don’t buy hookers all the time.”
“You buy them too much…”
He drank from his glass then rolled his eyes. “What’s gonna happen with you and Siena?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re pussy-whipped and she’s happy. You’re playing house in that big mansion. You told me to make sure she gets everything if you die. I just assumed you were going to marry her at some point.”
Siena told me she wanted me for the rest of her life. She wanted to make more babies. She wanted to grow old with me. Marriage was exactly what she wanted. She’d been behaving differently lately, especially when I pressed her on making another baby. I assumed marriage had something to do with it, but she was too proud to ask me about it directly. “When the time is right, I’ll ask.”
“You’ll ask?” He abandoned his drink and gave me his full attention. “Does that mean you have a ring?”
I shrugged. “Maybe I do. Maybe I don’t.”
“Dude, why won’t you just tell me?”
“Dude?” I countered. “Is that another word you learned from your books?”
“I don’t know why you’re being secretive about this. She and I are on great terms now. She even let me hold Martina. Water under the bridge.”
That had nothing to do with this. “I’ll ask her when I’m ready to ask her. I don’t want it to be planned, because life happens while you’re making plans. I want it to be spontaneous, in the moment. When that special moment arrives, I’ll know it.”
“But…do you have a ring?”
“Does it matter?”
“Women like diamond rings.”
“Siena doesn’t care about stuff like that.”
“But it’s not very romantic without a ring.”
“I never said I didn’t have a ring,” I countered.
He leaned forward. “So, you do have a ring?”
“I didn’t say that either.”
He grabbed a piece of paper off my desk, crumpled it, and threw it at me. “I’m your brother, man. Tell me.”
“When I ask her, you’ll be the first to know. But until then…this is between her and me.”
/> I was relieved to be back at the gym. I couldn’t run as long as I used to, but I would build back up endurance over time. I couldn’t lift the same weight either. My muscles weren’t as strong as they used to be, and instead of pushing it too hard, I started easy.
I started over.
I was just grateful to be on my feet again.
After I finished my two-hour workout, I showered and got ready for dinner. “How was your day?” I asked after I shaved in the sink.
“Good. Martina and I went for a walk. There’s only a little bit left of summer. Trying to enjoy it.”
I patted the aftershave onto my face and then pulled on my clothes.
“How was your day?”
“Good. We made a deal with the Skull Kings. They were supposed to assist us with Micah, but since they didn’t, we reverted to our previous deal.”
That information seemed boring to her. “Oh.”
“How was Martina today?”
“She’s good. She’s growing so fast, you know. I can see her become more aware of things as she ages. It’s like she’s beginning to understand we’re her parents, this is her home, things like that. She’s a sponge, and she’s just absorbing everything.” She spoke like a typically proud mother.
“She’s smart like you.”
“More like you. But thank you.”
We went downstairs and had dinner. I held Martina in the crook of my arm because I was finally strong enough to do that. I ate with one hand since Siena had been with her all day. Giovanni made us chicken with vegetables, putting us both on low-carb diets. Siena wanted to lose weight after the baby, and I wanted to get back into shape. “I’m glad you and Bates are getting along.”
“I couldn’t hate someone who loves you so much. Not possible.”
Well, I still hated him a bit. Forgiveness wasn’t easy for me, unfortunately. Not even when it was my own flesh and blood. You couldn’t even see Siena’s injury anymore because her hair hid it from view—but I hadn’t forgotten.