Lifting his gun, Nero pressed it to the boy’s head. “Get your fucking hands off my sister, Salvatici, you piece of shit,” he demanded, ready to pull the trigger if he didn’t move quick enough.
The sound of his voice caused Tori to jump up. When she just blinked at him instead of moving away, Nero felt ready to explode.
“Victoria, get your ass out of that bed and get dressed.”
“Get out, Genovese. We’ll meet you in the living room when we’re dressed,” Dominic Salvatici said, trying to shield Tori.
What the hell is going on now? I saw the video—this little fuck raped her, and now she’s hiding behind him?
“Ten minutes, Salvatici,” Nero told him when he saw tears of shame—not fear—spring up in Tori’s eyes.
Motioning his guys out, he closed the door and looked at Matteo, who wore a perplexed look.
Yeah, I know exactly how he feels. Nothing makes sense.
Going into the living room, Nero stared at the two little shits on the couch. They had pissed-but-defiant looks on their faces. Nero was glad when Tori finally came out. Head down, she went with Salvatici and sat.
Angrily, Nero glared at her and shook his head.
Why the fuck did she have to come here?
About to open his mouth and ask her just that, he was cut off by the Salvatici kid. “She belongs to me,” he growled.
Nero couldn’t help the harsh laugh that crossed his lips when he heard those words.
This kid needs a dose of reality.
“My sister is a Genovese, and will never belong to a Salvatici. Did you think I wouldn’t know that your brother has a contract out on her, dead or alive? Oh, and the contract is also for anyone harboring her,” Nero told him, almost feeling bad at the shock that showed on the kid’s face. Nero more than anyone knew what it was like to have blood turn on you. “So tell me why I shouldn’t just kill you now and be done with it? Our families are at war, after all.”
Before the kid could fire back, Tori surprised Nero by doing something she hadn’t done in years. Straightening up her shoulders, she glared at Nero angrily.
“Enough, Nero. They didn’t start the war. Our family did.” Nero was about to deny it, but Tori didn’t give him a chance. “Caterina murdered two of the Salvatici men, kidnapped Maria Salvatici, and almost murdered Angelica Salvatici and her unborn child. We got word that the baby made it, but they’re still not sure if Angelica will. Caterina also tried to kill Dominic and me.”
Fuck. This can’t be happening.
“Tell me,” Nero growled, realizing this was his fault. Anything that Caterina did was on him because he hadn’t killed her when he had the chance. Stonily, Nero listened as Tori told him about the videos she had received—but not what they really held. She told him about finding Enzo’s victims and trying to help them. She told him about cultivating a friendship with Maria Salvatici as a way to meet Angelica. She told him about finding a dead body in her apartment and getting rid of it. Finally, she told him about figuring out Caterina’s plan before the attempt on her life, about the hospital, about Dominic and his crew saving her. She told him about everything—except what had been sent to him. An hour had passed by the time she finished, and her voice was hoarse from the telling.
Tori’s protecting this kid, even after what he did to her.
After listening to everything, Nero knew that, for now, he needed to keep the lot of them alive if there was any chance of this not turning into a full-blown war. This wasn’t about his sister right now—this was about protecting his entire family. Choices had to be made.
“You and your men are coming with us until we can find your sister and make your brother listen,” Nero told Dominic.
Looking Nero square in the eye, Dominic surprised him by telling him something that wasn’t in his interest. “If Angie, dies it won’t matter. No force on this earth will make Lucca stop and listen then.”
Nero knew what was coming if Angelica died, but either way Nero wasn’t going to leave that girl with Caterina. “I know, but your sister has suffered enough at the hands of my family.” Seeing how Tori held Dominic’s hand, Nero shook his head. He knew their relationship was something that could never happen.
After leaving the house, they went straight to the airport and then home. It was the only place Nero had a good chance at keeping them safe until this could all be sorted out. When Nero told Tori to ride with him to the house, Dominic was not pleased and Tori got between them again. This trip, as bad as it had been, seemed to be a turning point for Tori. Though Nero tried to hold his temper, he couldn’t. As soon as the car was on the way, he ripped into Tori. He demanded to know what had possessed her to meet Angelica Salvatici after she learned the truth about what Enzo had done to her. She couldn’t answer him. Confusion filled her face, and finally she broke down in tears. He held her for the rest of the ride home.
As soon as they reached the house, Tori disappeared upstairs and Nero sent Dominic and his crew to rest. Going straight to his office, he motioned for Rose to follow, though the woman was staring after Tori with a worried look on her face. There was nothing that could be done for her. Tori would have to arrive at the truth herself—there was no place in her future for Dominic Salvatici.
Quietly, Nero told Rose everything that had occurred. He left nothing out. Despair filled Rose’s face as she realized—as he did—that war was inevitable. Nero had his people scouring for leads on Caterina while he, Matteo, and Rose contacted everyone they could think of who might be hiding her. All of Enzo’s old associates were suspects, and all were told what the consequences of their lies would be if it was found out later that they knew her whereabouts. Many an alliance was strained due to those threats, but that didn’t matter.
In desperation, Nero contacted his mole within the El Puno family—and found out the truth. Nero had been paying an informant for years because he never trusted the cartel to honor the arrangement. He had been right not to. Stoically, Nero listened as his contact relayed what had before just been privy to the top of their food chain. It would seem that the cartel had never broken contact with Caterina. When Caterina had escaped to Europe, she had started a chain of underground torture clubs—and the cartel had readily supplied the women for her. Each word spoken made Nero realize that his allies in Europe must have been involved in her little enterprise. Nero thought Caterina had been living quietly for all those years, but that had been a lie. The only reason his guy was even aware of it now was because Maria Salvatici had been sold south as a present. The cartel was still angry at the Salvatici family for closing down the clubs Nero had been unable to find and cutting off that income. Telling his informant to find the girl, Nero hung up the phone and went to the library to join the others, only stopping long enough to tell a guy lounging in the hall to fetch Dominic.
After going into the library, Nero got a drink and waited. Images from the night he took over Enzo’s clubs were flashing in his head when Dominic and his crew walked in. Keeping his voice bland, Nero told them what he had learned about Maria’s whereabouts. Respect filled Nero when the kid—who Nero told himself he should start thinking of as Dominic—asked for information on the cartel so that he could find his sister. Telling him to pack, Nero left the room. He ignored the look of surprise on Dominic Salvatici’s face when he learned that he was going to walk away from everything. Dark humor filled Nero. If the kid knew the truth of why he was being allowed to help, his surprise would have turned to rage quickly enough.
Chapter 18
As he drove toward the compound, Nero drilled into Dominic again how he had to behave. It had taken days to find out were Maria might be—and cost more than the kid would ever know. Promises had been made to find the girl that Nero would have to make good on, promises that could destroy his family. Getting out of the car, Nero hid his disgust at what he saw. The depths of depravity men could sink to was on display for the world to see. Children led men’s souls on a path to damnation that glittered like a perfe
ct stone. Moving through the club, which was set up like the stateliest of mansions, Nero eyed the occupants of the rooms coldly. An array of torture techniques filled it, and men and women suspended in cages and by chains hung from the ceilings. Nero saw his mole. Leaving Dominic, he made his way over to him—ignoring the pleading, outstretched hands and begging eyes of those he couldn’t help.
The mole motioned to a girl; Nero looked at her and felt sick. Strapped to a table, she was surrounded by men and woman and was being poked and prodded by things best not mentioned as they bid upon her. Hiding his disgust, Nero gave a price that he was sure would not be topped. Once the others had walked away, he told her handler that he wanted a room and went back to Dominic. Telling him to come, they both followed a house mother. On and on they walked, leaving behind sounds and smells that could never be forgotten. Finally they reached a room; she motioned for them to enter. After giving them instructions on how to contact her, she left. The room was just like the house—a divided mix of beauty and hell. Moving to the bed, Nero took off his jacket. He used it to cover the girl chained to the bed before her brother had a chance to see her. Pity filled him as he unchained her, only pausing long enough to tell her to stop when she began to move her hands over his body.
Dominic looked like he was going to throw up when he looked at his sister. “Listen to me. I’m going to call that woman back,” Nero told him finally. That got an immediate reaction from Maria, who whimpered in fear. Hardening his heart to the sound, he continued. “We need her to bring us the suitcase in the trunk of my car. It’s large enough that we can fit her into it.”
“What if the guards check it?” Dominic asked hoarsely, his eyes still glued to what was left of his sister.
“They will check it, but they’ll only find bondage shit and toys. I had it built just in case we couldn’t simply walk her out. It’s designed so we can put her in it—it has a false bottom. They probably won’t check it that thoroughly since we’re leaving, but if they do at least we’ll already be by the door. It beats trying to fight our way through the whole house.”
“All right.”
“Listen, Dom. I know that you want to kill that cunt, but don’t do it yet.”
Nero watched as Dominic sat down on the bed. Gently taking his sister’s face into his hands, he turned her to look at him. “Maria? It’s me, Dom. Your brother. We’re going to get you out of here. Maria, do you understand me? I’m here to take you home,” he whispered softly as she looked blankly back at him. When her hands moved, Nero thought maybe Dom had gotten through to her—until he realized her hands were going for his pants.
“Dom, she’s drugged. She doesn’t know what she’s doing,” Nero told him sharply. He needed Dom’s head in the game. Once he was sure he was listening, Nero continued. “Dom, one of us will need to be in bed with her when that bitch comes in or she’ll know something’s up.”
“I can’t get into bed with my sister,” Dom spat in horror.
“Fuck no. You’ll be in the chair there, in the shadows, pretending to watch. Let me do the talking. Don’t even look at the bitch when she enters.” Nero gripped his shoulder, then looked him in the eye, needing him to understand. “This is our only chance to get us all out of here alive, but if something goes wrong, I need to know what you want to do.”
A hardness filled Dominic’s eyes as he realized what Nero meant. He said the only words that he could. “Put a bullet right between her eyes.”
Nero nodded his head in agreement—had this been Tori, he would have done the same. There was no way in hell he would leave his sister to this. Nero motioned Dominic to the chair in the shadows before making the call, then he stripped out of his clothing and climbed into bed with Maria. With unseeing eyes, the girl tried to touch him. Grabbing her hands, Nero told her “no” in a firm, low voice. He tensed when he heard the door open. Watching the house mother enter with his bag through narrow eyes, Nero climbed out of the bed buck naked. Seeing the lust in her eyes, Nero walked over to her while Dominic moved behind her. Nero reached out and grabbed her tit. Thinking that she was about to have some fun, she took her hand out of her pocket—which they knew contained a panic button. Taking her hands in his, Nero pressed them to his chest and then nodded to Dom. In one swift move, he broke her neck. The cracking sound was the most satisfying thing Nero had heard in days.
Dominic dropped to the floor to empty the suitcase, and Nero went to the bed to collect Maria. Gently lifting her, he carried her to the case and placed her inside. She didn’t need to see what he was about to do. Once she was secure, Nero went to work. He quickly stripped the dead house mother on the floor, and with Dominic’s help, he put her on the bed. Climbing on top of her, Nero pounded her face in with his fist. He broke every bone before grabbing a knife set next to the bed and slashing her up.
When he finished and climbed off, he saw the disgusted look on Dominic’s face. “They won’t check the body if the bitch is this messed up. They’ll just dump her. Hopefully they’ll think the house mother is entertaining in one of the rooms.”
Nero dressed again and they waited for the bellhop to carry out the bag. The kid who arrived gave only the barest of glances at the bed before leading them out. Tension filled Nero that he hid as he waited to be caught. When they made it out the door and to the car, he couldn’t believe their luck. He wasn’t able to breathe again, though, until they were on the plane heading home.
Chapter 19
Nero stared blindly at the girl tied to the bed. His mind went to memories of Jenny.
Had she been like this for the time that Enzo had held her captive? Had the horrors that this girl suffered been shared by my little fairy?
Maria had begun going into withdrawal on the plane, so they had no choice but to tie her down once they reached the house. Her begging for the drugs that dulled what had been done to her tore at the soul, and her curses when he wouldn’t give her any were even worse. Unable to take it anymore, Dominic had fled his sister’s presence. The things she had offered…no brother should ever have to hear those words come from a sister’s mouth.
Day after day, Nero’s guilt kept him coming back to the room. The guilt was eating his soul. If he had listened to Angelica, this never would have happened. If he had listened to Angelica, his family would not be on the brink of war. He owed Angelica his life and his family’s. How had he repaid her? By almost getting her, her child, her sister-in-law, his own sister, and so many others killed. She had told him that the choice of whether his family would survive was his—he had chosen wrongly. He had allowed love to guide him instead of duty. He couldn’t do that any longer. The Salvatici family wanted Maria, Dominic, and his crew returned to them. Nero had again been willing to let his guilt guide him, until Dominic had stepped in and told him that he had no choice but to turn them over.
He was right, and that galled Nero. It galled him because, after everything, he respected Dominic. Sending him to his death was something that he did not want to do. After removing the bindings from Maria’s hands and feet, Nero gently took her into his arms. They had drugged her again in preparation for moving her. She weighed almost nothing, Nero noticed as he carried her down the stairs and to the car. Climbing in, he kept her on his lap as they waited for Dominic to join them. When he finally arrived and the car began to move, none of them spoke. What was there to say? They had tried to reason with the Salvatici s earlier, at a sit-down, and it went nowhere. Their anger left no room for reason.
They were convinced that Nero was lying. When Nero told them that they would be murdering innocent family members, they scoffed and told him their information came from Nero’s own family. They told Nero in no uncertain terms that he would either have to turn over Maria and the traitors, or they would kill the members of Nero’s family who they had taken as hostages.
There was no choice left, so here they sat. When the car pulled into the parking lot where the exchange was to take place, Nero looked at the three men he was sending to death. Ac
ceptance filled their faces. They had all agreed that their individual lives weren’t as important as trying to prevent a war between the families. A letter had been tucked into Maria’s bag that Dominic hoped would reach Angelica, explaining everything and stopping any further killings. She had every right to blame Nero for what had occurred, though, and to demand vengeance.
Getting out of the car, Nero handed Maria to her brother and followed them to the waiting Salvatici crew. Rage filled the men’s faces when they got a look at Maria. Nero could understand the emotion—he felt it himself—but it was misdirected at the boy who carried her in his arms.
Watching Lucca Salvatici rip his sister from Dominic’s arms, Nero looked at the head of the Salvatici family. “I will tell you this once more, Salvatici. You are making a mistake. Your son has not betrayed you. My family has not plotted to move against you. This has all been the plan of my sister Caterina, Victoria’s twin. She wants to destroy both of our families for revenge and power,” Nero said, trying to reason with him one last time.
“Do you think I’m stupid, Genovese?” the head of the Salvatici family spat back. “I know that you have no sister named Victoria. Caterina doesn’t have a twin. This exchange is finished. Take your men and go.”
What the hell? Proving that Tori was Caterina’s twin should have been easy once they knew what to look for.
Nero opened his mouth to tell them just that, but he never had a chance to speak. All hell broke loose. Bullets rained down from all directions. Men dove for cover as others raced for cars. Bodies from both families began to drop. His men covered him as they pulled him into the car. Once they had him in, the tires squealed. Bullets shattered windows before they could get away.
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