Empire of Pain (Torrio Empire #3) Read Online J.L. Beck

Categories Genre: Alpha Male, Billionaire, Crime, Dark, Mafia Tags Authors: Series: Torrio Empire Series by J.L. Beck
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Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 131455 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 657(@200wpm)___ 526(@250wpm)___ 438(@300wpm)
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“How sweet,” he murmurs. “More concerned for your friend than you are for yourself. What a shame her mother wasn't more concerned for her—but then she was blinded by greed and hatred, sadly.”

His eyes. I remember those icy eyes staring at me from across a table while his son reacted in horror thanks to the fork sticking out of the back of his hand—the venom and rage in those eyes.

“Jack Moroni,” I growl his name. And now it all makes sense, at least partly. He and Callum weren't on good terms when that dinner ended. I haven't thought about him since then, really, thanks to all the shit that went down afterwards.

“Bianca Cole. I'm honored you remember me.”

“How could I forget?” When he snickers, I demand, “Where is Tatum? Seriously. What did you do to her?”

“Seriously?” He looks over his shoulder to the thug standing behind him. There's a gun jutting out from the man's waistband. I'm not stupid. I know it's a silent threat. “Well. Callum certainly hasn't taught you how to threaten people properly."

"What did you do to her?" It takes everything to fight back the tears threatening to choke me. I will not let this man see me cry. He's nothing. A coward who can't fight a man face-to-face, so he has to kidnap a defenseless girl.

He strokes his sharp jaw, lips pursed. “You know, it all happened so fast. I can't quite remember.”

There's no way to keep my chin from quivering. “You're a sick fucking bastard!!” I seethe.

“I've never been called that before..” Again, he looks over his shoulder, this time sharing a snide laugh with one of his men.

Tatum. This is my fault. If she hadn't been with me, she'd be fine right now. I wouldn't have to imagine her dead body lying beside Amanda's in some random building.

“If you killed her, I swear to God…” Emotion chokes me before I can finish the thought. What would I do anyway? Kill him? Kick him in his shin? How could I possibly do any of those things with an armed man standing a short five feet behind him?

“You'll, what?” he taunts. “What would you do if I killed your little friend the way I killed her mother?”

What would I do? The answer is nothing. I can't do a single thing, and this asshole knows it. I grit my teeth and clench my fists, fighting back the anger. If he did kill her, at least Tatum heard in the end how Amanda didn't want her to be part of this.

She must have heard the fear and anger in her mom's voice when she first discovered us. At least she has that little piece of knowledge. That her mom, even as selfish as she was, still tried her best to protect her in the end.

There's still a chance she's alive. I remind myself. Jack hasn't confirmed he killed her, and I'll hold onto that until I know for sure. Nausea grips me hard enough to bring tears to my eyes. Somehow I manage to blink them back.

“In fact…” Jack's amused expression hardens. “Your little friend ended up the way she did, thanks to that nasty mouth of hers. You might want to take a lesson from her and watch what you say, or you'll get the same treatment she did.”

A chill runs through me at the memory of that sound. Even the gunshot that killed Amanda doesn't make me shiver like that. “Why are you doing this?” I whisper. “Is it because of what I did to your son?”

“Come on, you're a smart girl. Do you truly think I'd go through all this trouble because you jabbed Dominic with a fork?” His smirk sets my teeth on edge.

“Why, then?” I mimic his smirk, looking him up and down while I do. “Let me guess. Amanda twisted you around her finger the way she twisted my ex-boyfriend? She must've offered you something great.”

“She didn't twist shit,” he snaps. It doesn't take much to shake him up—I make a mental note to remember that. I don't want to be the next person with a bullet in her head.

“No? Then tell me this wasn't her idea. She's one of few people who know I'm pregnant, and she told you. The two of you concocted this little kidnapping scheme together.”

“She didn't concoct a thing,” he informs me in a deceptively smooth voice. If I didn't know better, I'd think he was a calm, rational man. I might even make the mistake of finding him charming. He's skilled at putting on an act, that's for sure.

He folds his hands in front of himself, smiling faintly while standing over me. “Poor Amanda was the typical greedy woman who thinks they're smarter than they are. She made the mistake of believing she was in the driver's seat when all she did was give me the ammunition I was looking for. Fucking with the man's business wasn't enough to make him pay for insulting me. He needs real motivation to make things right.”


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