Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 34380 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 172(@200wpm)___ 138(@250wpm)___ 115(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34380 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 172(@200wpm)___ 138(@250wpm)___ 115(@300wpm)
There’s no reason for me not to believe Tallulah. I take my eyes off her, convincing myself she has no benefit from lying about the situation. Instead, I focus my attention on the accused.
Antonio has been knocked down to the floor, where he’s still groaning from being punched and kicked. I can tell by Julio’s clipped expression he’s torn, too. But I will not look at him either.
Antonio is my employee. Given his atrocious fuck-ups since he’s been working here, he really leaves me no choice. It’s time for him to say goodbye to this world.
I share a glance with Heath, and we seem to silently agree for once. We both want this prick dead.
“Do you want to deal with this now?” I growl at my ward. “Or do you want to enjoy the rest of your party, angel?”
Tallulah is still shaking, her pupils dilated as her eyes meet mine. I watch the shift happen on her face. From empathic and innocent, she goes to vengeful and angry.
“Kill him,” she hisses, making Julio blanche. I nod at the guards. Seems like my girl doesn’t want to waste any time in doling out Antonio’s punishment, and who am I to stop her? She’s the birthday girl, after all. She should get anything she wants today. And if it means killing a man in my employ, so be it.
“Dungeon,” I hiss at Saul, who directs the guards down the stone steps and into the darker part of the house.
Tallulah has been here before, though it shouldn’t be a habit for her to wander into the most shadowy corners of the house. Bad things happen here. Things that will give her a lifetime of nightmares.
Everyone follows suit. Rain and Tallulah’s sister are the only ones who stay behind. Rain seems disappointed her other daughter wants to witness the slaughter. But she says nothing.
My eyes linger on the woman who once wore my ring. I can’t believe I ever thought she’d make a suitable wife. My feelings for her are non-existent now. To me, she’s only Tallulah’s mother. I could never see her the way I used to.
We arrive at the damp stone dungeons. I pace the room as Antonio is strapped down on a chair with his legs and arms tied.
“What will it be, Tallulah?” I smirk at my ward. “Do you want to just leave him down here to rot?”
“No,” she shakes her head vehemently. Her back is pressed to the wall, and she’s watching the scene unfold passively. “I want him dead before midnight.”
“Your wish is my command, angel,” I smirk. “Heath, you joining in?”
“Damn right I am,” my adoptive nephew mutters, never taking his eyes off Antonio. I can see the rage in Heath’s eyes. I’m a little proud of myself, because I know the intensity of the emotion is something I instilled in Heath. If it weren’t for me, he’d be dead by now. He needed to toughen up to face the cartel, and I felt it was up to me to train him for a successful life in the mafia.
I did the same thing to my brother, after all... But that didn’t work out quite as smoothly.
“What are we going to do to him?” I ask Heath, then look around the room. “Any ideas? Julio?”
I know I’m playing wicked mind games again, but I have no intention of stopping. If I want the men in my cartel to honor and respect me, I need to make an example out of this traitor. And involving his brother in Antonio’s demise will only prove I am the most brutal man these guards will ever encounter.
That’s the difference between me and Heath. My nephew always had a soft heart. Mine blackened and withered away a long time ago.
“Do you think we should skin him?” I ask when Julio doesn’t reply, walking up close to him and smirking in his pale face. “Have the dogs eat him? Boil him alive? Pour acid over him and watch him decompose? What do you think, Julio?”
“Please, don Xavier,” the man finally gets out, shutting his eyes tight. “Don’t make me pick.”
It pleases me that the guard has not chosen to defend his brother this time. No, Julio knows full well Antonio’s as good as fucking dead. Now he’s pleading for mercy for himself. But I have none to give out. I will make him do this. I will set an example. I need to show everyone what happens to despicable pricks like Antonio, who disrespected my woman.
“Okay,” I say, clapping a friendly hand on the guard’s back. “I won’t make you pick. I’ll figure something out myself.”
A momentary expression of relief passes over his face, one I’m going to delight in ruining.
“Get the chainsaw, Julio.”
I turn my back to him and walk away. The room is deathly silent. Heath is watching Antonio and Tallulah’s gaze is glued to the floor. No one speaks. The sound of Julio dragging his feet on the floor makes me impatient.