by Cora Reilly
“She’s here to pay her father’s debts,” Nino said. I wasn’t sure he was talking about money.
“Is she now?” Remo asked curiously. He came around the sofa, closer to me and I wished he didn’t. A smile curled his lips and I took a step back, but Nino’s arm stopped my movement. He wasn’t looking at me, only at his brother. Some silent understanding passed between them I wasn’t in on. “I’ll let you handle it then. I’ll be back later,” Nino said, and just left, closing the door in my face.
I stood there, small and shaking, trying to look determined and strong. My eyes flitted over to where Remo was propped up with his hip against the backrest of the sofa. Soto, behind him, had something eager and gleeful in his expression.
I held up the money uncertainly. “I have the money my father owes you.”
Remo regarded me with unsettling intensity. “I doubt that.”
I frowned. He couldn’t possibly see how much money I held in my hands. It was a bundle of ten and twenty dollar notes. “It’s one thousand dollars.”
“One thousand?” Remo asked with a laugh. “How much do you think he owes us?”
I shivered. My eyes darted to Soto again, then back to Remo.
I licked my lips nervously. “He said a couple of thousand.”
Remo shook his head once and pushed away from the sofa. He came closer and I had to fight the urge to run. There was no way I could have outrun him anyway. He scared me more than anything ever had, and I had been stupid enough to face him because my father couldn’t get a grip on his addiction.
“Ten thousand, and that’s without interest. In total he owes us close to fourteen thousand.”
My stomach plummeted. “Four thousand in interest?” I gasped. “That’s usury!”
“We’re the mob, Leona,” Remo Falcone said, amused. He knew my name? Had Fabiano talked to him about me? Because of my mother.
“Every day he doesn’t pay us, another five hundred of interest comes on top.”
I couldn’t believe it. Father must have realized he owed much more than just a couple of thousands. Had he set me up? “But…but I don’t have that much, and there’s no way I can earn enough money unless you don’t take interest anymore.”
Remo shook his head. “This isn’t a negotiation, girl. Your father owes us money, and perhaps you forgot, but your mother does too. Your father was supposed to pay until yesterday at midnight. He didn’t.” By now, Remo was only two steps away from me, and it set my body into flight mode.
“I have this.” I held up my wrist with the bracelet Fabiano had given me for Christmas. Guilt filled me. How could I even consider giving his present away?
Something in Remo’s eyes shifted and he bridged the remaining distance between us. I bumped against the door, trying to evade him, but he gripped my arm tightly and regarded the bracelet. A fire simmered in his eyes when he looked up at me. “That would settle your father’s debt. An expensive piece of jewelry for someone like you.”
It would settle fourteen thousand dollars? I stared down at the bracelet. Remo released my wrist. His lips twisted cruelly. “Sadly, it’s too late. Your father will pay his debt in blood.”
“Please,” I begged. “He won’t ever owe you money again.”
“Are you willing to swear on it?” Remo hissed.
I knew how much an oath meant to the Camorra. And I knew it would have been a lie. I averted my eyes from Remo’s cruel ones. “Please. There has to be something I can do. Don’t kill him.”
Remo tilted his head. My begging did nothing to him. “It’s not me who will kill him. It’s Fabiano, but you must know that, don’t you?” His voice was low and threatening.
“Isn’t there something I can do?” I whispered desperately, and something flickered in his dark eyes. God, and I wanted to swallow every syllable I’d uttered. What had I said? My father had sent me here to pay for his debts and I was risking my life for him.
For a long time Remo didn’t say anything.
I gave a jerky nod. “Okay. I’ll just go.”
Remo put a hand on the door. I sucked in a breath and backed away from him. I fumbled for my mobile. Perhaps Fabiano could help me. I didn’t get far. Remo took the mobile from my hand and glanced down at it.
“Just let me leave.”
He shut off my mobile with a thunderous expression. “It’s too late for that, I fear.” He nodded toward Soto, who came our way at once. “I think we need to set an example.”
Soto gripped my arm. The excited gleam in his expression made terror soar through my veins. “The basement?” he asked with barely hidden eagerness.
Bile traveled up my throat. Remo gave a nod, his eyes slipping down to my bracelet again as if he’d seen it before. “And Soto, you’ll wait until I give you an order before you begin. If you lay a finger on her before, I’ll cut it off.”
Soto pulled me down a flight of stairs and into a small room with only a mattress in the corner and a chair in the other.
“I can’t wait to start, bitch. Fabiano will be fucking furious,” Soto muttered, then let go of me. I stumbled back against the wall. There was no escaping him.
I wasn’t sure how much time passed with him undressing me with his eyes, when a low buzz sound made me jump. Soto pulled out his mobile, then he looked back at me, with a leer. “Time to play.”
Chapter Eighteen
I cursed when Griffin handed me the list with people who hadn’t paid their betting debts. Greg Hall. But this time he owed more than he’d be able to pay back. He was third on the list. Leona would hopefully be gone by the time I paid him a visit.
Why did this fucker have to lend money from us?
When it was finally his turn, I parked at the curb, feeling pissed. I got out, but my engine had caught Hall’s attention.
He spotted me through the windows. He’d probably been watching the street all day. He knew the rules. He knew the consequences. This wasn’t the first time after all. But today he’d suffer more than a few broken bones. His life would end today.
He disappeared from view, probably trying to escape. As if that was going to happen. I jogged around the building and saw him rushing out of the backdoor of the apartment complex. Sighing, I ran after him. His legs were shorter and he was too out of shape to evade me for long.
When I caught up with him, I grabbed him by the cuff of his stupid Hawaii shirt and slammed him to the ground. He cried out as he landed hard on his back, bloodshot eyes staring up at me with trepidation. If the impact already made him cry out like a pussy, I’d have to stuff his mouth or he’d alert the entire neighborhood with his screaming. I punched him hard in the ribs, making him gasp for breath. That would silence him for a while. Then I dragged him after me, hearing his desperate attempts to speak past the lack of oxygen in his lungs. “Don’t. Please,” he managed when we reached the apartment door.
I ignored him. If I stopped whenever someone begged me, the Camorra would be broke. And a big part of me was looking forward to torturing him for his neglect toward Leona. He had caused her nothing but trouble, and he would continue to do so.
I shoved him into the apartment that he hadn’t bothered locking when he’d run. He hit the ground, and I pulled my knife. Perhaps I’d finish my work on his back first.
His eyes zoomed in on the blade in terror. “I sent Leona to settle my debt! You don’t have to do this.”
I froze. “What did you just say?” I stalked toward him. If he’d agreed to let his daughter handle this, he was the worst scum on earth. He nodded, and disgust washed over me. I really wanted to plunge my knife into his cowardly eyes.
“I sent Leona--”
I crouched over him, lifting him by his collar. “Where did you send her?”
“To Falcone.”
I thrust my fist into his face, breaking his nose and jaw. I would have beaten him to death if I’d thought there was time. But if Leona was on her way to Remo, I couldn’t waste a single second. “Where exactly?” Leona wouldn’t walk in
to Remo’s mansion after all.
“I told her to go to the Sugartrap,” he got out, blood dripping out of his mouth. I punched him again, then jerked to my feet and gripped his collar. I dragged him toward my car.
“I told you I sent Leona! My debt will be settled!”
“Shut up!” I snarled.
I knew how much he owed us, and he knew it too. There was no way Leona had enough money.
The Sugartrap was the worst place he could have chosen, and I suspected he’d known that. He’d sacrificed his own daughter to save his sorry ass. I opened the trunk and flung him in, then closed it to his terrified face.
I raced down the Strip, only slowed when I came closer to the Sugartrap, one of our whorehouses and the place where Remo dealt with women who gave the Camorra trouble. It wouldn’t do any good if someone saw me being in hurry. Remo would wonder why and puzzle things together. Perhaps he had already.
I parked in my usual spot. Remo’s Aston Martin was already parked in the front, and so was Soto’s Buick. I hauled Hall out of the trunk, then dragged him after me as I stalked past the guard without a greeting and crossed the public part of the whorehouse, to the back wing. Hall kept pleading and groveling. I found Remo in his office, as usual not behind his desk but on the sofa, browsing through a car prospect. He didn’t look up when I stepped in, but he knew it was me. He had waited for me. I’d known him for years. I knew the games he played. I’d been one of his best players for a long time. It took all of my self-control not to ask him about Leona right away. I needed to play this right or it would all be in vain.
“You are done early,” he said, and when he met my gaze, there was something reptile-like in his expression. I shoved Hall to the ground. He landed hard, his fucking beetle-eyes darting between Remo and me.
“The asshole told me he sent his daughter to handle his debt. I needed to check with you before I proceeded with him.”
“Of course,” Remo said with a cold smile. He didn’t once look at Hall. This was about me, about us. “It’s the third time Hall is behind. His daughter offered to pay his debt.”
I knew all that and I didn’t give a fuck. All I cared about was Leona not getting hurt.
“So you took her money?”
“I didn’t ask her for money. She wouldn’t be able to pay that much. But she was determined to save her father.”
“Where is she?” I asked carefully. Every muscle in my body was tense because I knew if something happened to Leona, I’d fucking lose it.
“She’s in the basement. Paying his debt the only way she can.”
My blood ran cold. “Soto?” It was all I managed.
Remo nodded but his eyes bored into my skull. “He went down with her a couple of minutes ago.”
Two minutes. I didn’t have much time. Leona didn’t have much time. “I’m your Enforcer. Let me handle her.”
Remo came up to me, steps slow and measured. And for the first time, I tried to imagine what I’d have to do to beat him, to kill him. He was like my brother, and I hated that I’d come that far. “You never deal with women. You asked me to let Soto handle that part of the business, and I granted you your wish, Fabiano.”
He was right. He’d never understood but because I was like his brother, he had accepted my reluctance. And Remo wasn’t the accepting type.
“It’s different with her,” I said, letting my hunger show but not my protectiveness. If Remo thought this was anything but fun, nothing would save Leona.
Hall was still crouched on the floor, and I made a silent vow to let him suffer before I granted him death.
“I don’t think you handling her will have the desired effect,” Remo said. “You have been seeing her for weeks. You fucking her in my dungeon won’t really send a message.”
“I haven’t fucked her yet. She refused me.”
“Refused you?” Remo asked, as if the word meant nothing to him. His eyes became calculating. “And you let her?”
Oh Leona, I hope you are worth it. Remo was on the hunt.
I didn’t say anything. I had a feeling it would make things worse. “Let me handle her,” I said calmly. I put my hand on his shoulder, and that he let it happen, gave me hope. Still like brothers. “You won’t regret it.”
“I know I won’t,” he said. “But perhaps you will.” He paused. “Then handle her, Fabiano.” I was about to turn around and storm into the cellar to Leona, but his hand clamped down on my forearm. He turned it so the tattoo of the Camorra was up. “You are my Enforcer, Fabiano. You have been at my side since the beginning. You never disappointed me. Don’t start now.”
“And I won’t,” I said fiercely. “I will take care of her.”
Remo gave me a warning look. “Don’t disappoint me, Fabiano. She is just one woman. Remember where your loyalties lie.”
I barely listened. I hurried out of the room and down the stairs. I knew I had to make it on time. I took the stairs two at once. I couldn’t be late.
I knew where to go. Soto always chose the same room. I didn’t bother knocking instead I pushed open the door to our interrogation room. “I can’t wait to have you suck my cock,” Soto drawled. “Fucking choice be damned.”
Leona was pressed up against the wall, looking terrified while Soto was pulling down his pants, revealing his hairy ass. Terror filled Leona’s beautiful face, and for a moment I considered putting a knife in Soto’s back.
“Get out,” I snarled. “I’m taking over.”
Soto whirled around, showing me his pitiful cock. He gave me a stunned look. “I thought you didn’t like to handle women,” he said mockingly. “That’s why Remo gave me the job.”
“I changed my mind,” I growled. “Now get out before I lose my patience.”
Soto shot Leona another hungry look but then he pulled up his pants and stalked past me, muttering curses.
The door fell shut. I knew the camera was pointed at us, recording everything. Perhaps Remo was watching. This had nothing to do with Greg Hall, and everything to do with me. Remo was testing me. Remo trusted me as much as a man like him could trust anyone, like he trusted his brothers, and now he felt the need to test me.
A small part of me felt fury toward Leona for being the reason for it.
Remo had never doubted me. Never. And I had sworn with my own blood to never give him reason to.
Leona pushed away from the wall, looking confused and hopeful and scared all at once. “Oh Fabiano,” she whispered, relieved. “I’m so glad you came. I was so scared.”
I didn’t go over to her.
I wasn’t the savior she’d hoped for. She took another step in my direction, then stopped, looking at me with fucking hopeful eyes. Slowly the hope disappeared. “Fabiano?” she asked in the barest whisper.
I shut off my fucking useless feelings. I would be dead without Remo. Everything I was today was thanks to him. He’d saved me. I could not try to kill him, not even for Leona. And trying would be all it was. Remo was as strong as me, and he still had his brothers at his side.
I stalked toward Leona, and for the first time she backed off. When her back hit the wall, I was in front of her. I pressed my body against hers, caging her in, and sunk my nose into her hair. The camera only would make it look like I was cornering her. Her sweet flowery scent reached my nose.
“Fabiano?” she murmured. Hesitantly she put her hands on my waist as if she wasn’t sure if she should hug me. That would have been the end of everything. Fuck, but I wanted to wrap my arms around her. Nothing more.
Fuck me. Fuck us.
“I told you I’m not good,” I said quietly.
She peered up into my eyes, and I knew what she would see, exactly what I needed her to see to be convincing. Leona started trembling against me, fear eating away at what little hope was left. I pulled her arms away from my waist, grabbed her wrists and pinned them atop her head against the wall. I cornered her with my body and she allowed it. She let out a choked whimper, expression uncomprehending. She should
have fought by now. This broken-hearted surrender was something I couldn’t handle. There was still that stupid fucking hope. It was worse than begging and crying. Worse than anything had ever been because it meant she still believed there was more to me than the cold-hearted killer.
Perhaps she still didn’t understand what I was supposed to do to her.
I pressed my lips against her ear. “I can’t spare you. We’re being watched. If I don’t do it, Soto will and I can’t allow that.”
Her fear widened eyes stared up at me. “Because you don’t share, right?” she whispered miserably.
I wished it were only that. “Because Soto will break you.”
“And you won’t?”
We’d been talking for too long already. Every second that passed could seal both our fate.
“As a woman you are granted a choice unlike men. You can pay with your blood as a man would have to, or with your body,” I said sharply. I’d only spoken those damn words once before, and never again after that. Remo had handed over the task to Soto because I fucking couldn’t do it. He allowed me that one fucking weakness.
She raised her chin and I knew she considered choosing the first option because she’d rather suffer through pain than become like her mother. Damn it. “Leona,” I whispered, leaning into her again, surprised by the despair in my voice. Careful, Fabiano.
You are my Enforcer.
“Choose two. I can fake that one but not the other.”
Confusion filled her face.
“Choose the second option,” I murmured again.
“Two,” she said, resigned. Still not understanding what I had offered.
She started crying softly. I watched the tears make their silent descend over her soft freckles. Her eyes held mine, and then just like that, she nodded. “Do what you have to do.”
I’d wanted her from the first second I’d laid eyes on her, had wanted to be the one to rip her innocence from her, wanted to posses her in every way possible. But not like this, not in front of a fucking camera, not hard and fast, and brutally as Remo expected. Was she worth the risk?